Re: Teabaggers split on defense cuts
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:53 pm
To continue the War on Drugs.
My job depends on lost American jobs? Imagine that.Dumb4ever wrote: What's the matter Wags? That shit too real? Oh that's right....your job depends on lost American jobs. Why don't you get on board with the home team one time?
Actually dumbfuck, my job is tied directly to the housing and construction industry and for the past few years 70% of our business is in International sales. That means we export American made products to other countries, mainly Mexico, Central, and South America, thus creating jobs right here.
As for your take on outsourcing assembly of the F-150 to China, here's a clue why you're a pathetically ignorant dipshit:
By RANDOLPH HEASTER
The Kansas City Star
Think of it as a $400 million jackpot for the state of Missouri.
That’s how much Ford Motor Co. plans to spend to bring another vehicle to its Claycomo plant, providing job security for more than 4,000 area residents.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and Ford executives announced the investment Tuesday at Gary Crossley Ford in the Northland, where an agreement was signed providing Ford tax incentives to invest in the plant in preparation for a new product.
Ford declined comment on what new model will replace the popular Ford Escape SUV, which will end production at Claycomo late this year.
Ford will build the next version of the Escape at one of its Louisville, Ky., factories.
The governor lauded the agreement, made possible by tax incentive legislation passed last summer.
“Today’s announcement ensures that the next-generation vehicles will be built right here in Missouri,” Nixon said to the applause of more than 100 people at the dealership. “This is an investment that will pay off for generations to come.”
Ziad Ojakli, Ford’s group vice president of government and community relations, said that about a year ago Nixon traveled to Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to meet CEO Alan Mulally on the Claycomo plant.
The decision to invest came after Nixon called a special session of the General Assembly last summer, resulting in the passage of the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act. Although the tax incentive is available to other manufacturers, including automotive suppliers, the measure was aimed at persuading Ford to invest in the Claycomo factory for new-vehicle production.
Ford could receive up to $100 million in tax savings over 10 years.
In addition to keeping 3,750 jobs at the Claycomo plant, Nixon said Ford’s decision to build another vehicle there will keep supplier plants open in the state. That would include several hundred workers at supplier plants in the Kansas City area.
Ford’s plan to spend $400 million to install a new body shop and retool for a new vehicle is the latest positive development for the area’s auto industry. The Detroit automakers in recent years closed dozens of plants and laid off thousands upon thousands of workers in response to the economy’s nosedive. However, the Kansas City area’s Ford and General Motors facilities survived and appear to be benefiting from the resurgence of the domestic automakers.
Last year, GM said it would invest $136 million in its Fairfax plant to build the next-generation Chevrolet Malibu, which has been produced at Fairfax for years. That announcement also ensured that more than 3,500 auto workers there would maintain steady employment in coming years.
In 2000, Ford reportedly spent $750 million to retool the Claycomo plant to begin producing the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs. In 2003, the automaker also spent $39 million at Claycomo to expand the F-150’s body shop when the pickup was redesigned for the 2004 model year.
GM, meanwhile, spent more than $400 million in the last decade when the automaker began building the Malibu and Saturn Aura at Fairfax.
At Claycomo, Ford will continue building the F-150 pickup while the Escape production line is retooled.
Ford will replace the body shop on the Escape line as well as retooling and bringing in new equipment. Although it’s had upgrades, the existing body shop has been in place at least since the 1990s, union officials said.
“We have a good, skilled-trades work force that has kept the body shop going,” but the shop is “pretty dilapidated,” said Jeff Schmidt, bargaining chairman of United Auto Workers Local 249.
Schmidt said the nearly 3,800 hourly employees at the plant will breathe a collective sigh of relief with Ford’s pledge Tuesday.
“They’ve been on pins and needles, stressed out about the plant’s future,” he said. “The hard work and all the sacrifices our members made finally paid off.”