Ford Motor Co. is leaning on the United Auto Workers for concessions to help cut factory costs -- a move that is pitting plant against plant in a scramble to prove which one can pump out vehicles most cost-effectively.
Ford is making it clear that the most efficient and flexible factories have the best chance to survive and win new work as the automaker weighs decisions on plant closings and production slowdowns, UAW officials said Monday.
Ford is in talks this week with UAW leaders at factories in Dearborn and Kansas City, Mo., that make the F-150 pickup, Ford's top-selling model.
The union is warning employees that they must find ways to cut costs before Ford will sign off on where it will build 2009 model F-150s, due on the market in late 2008. Similar talks are playing out at plants across the country.
"They've come to us and said we're going to have to be more competitive," said Jerry Sullivan, president of UAW Local 600, which represents workers at the Dearborn Truck Plant at Ford's Rouge complex. "We're trying to be as cost-competitive as possible so we can secure our jobs and our future."
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