By Eileen Buckley
Hamburg, NY – A massive restructuring effort by Ford Motor Company will cut 35,000 jobs worldwide. In North America, 22,000 Ford workers are being cut.
Ford says it will shut down five plants by mid-decade. The truck plant in Oakville, Ontario, just west of Toronto, is slated to close by 2004. Oakville Mayor Anne Mulvale says the city is going to do all it can to help the laid-off Ford workers. She says the closure will have a large ripple effect on her community as well as on the entire Golden Horseshoe, including the Niagara Region.
Plants in Edison, New Jersey, St. Louis, Cleveland and Dearborn, Michigan will also be closed. Ford also says 11 other plants will undergo down sizing or shift eliminations.
In the Buffalo area, Kevin Donovan, United Auto Workers Region 9 Area Director for Western New York, says there will be no job cuts at the Ford Stamping Plant in Hamburg.
"The Ford Stamping Plant is posturing itself to stay afloat," Donovan said. "It's in Ford's plans for the long-term."
However, Donovan did say the local facility might see a slow down in orders as the other plants close.
UAW Region 9 represents more than 1,800 workers at the Ford Stamping Plant.