From Detroit Free Press
Nearly 2,800 workers at Ford Motor Co. and its former subsidiary, Visteon Corp., have taken early buyout packages ranging from $100,000 in cash to tuition assistance to a traditional early retirement plan, company officials said.
Ford announced Jan. 23 that it would close 14 plants and lay off 30,000 workers in the next six years as part of its massive “Way Forward” turnaround effort. The automaker is also trying to sell or close 23 former Visteon plants, which are managed by Automotive Components Holdings LLC.
About 1,750 of the workers who decided to take a buyout — or 63 percent — opted for one of three early retirement programs, meaning those workers were already close to retiring.
Under one of those packages, workers with at least 28 years of service can take a leave for two years until they reach 30 years of service, then they can retire as normal. During their leave, the workers will get 85 percent of their pay.
The remaining workers — 1,039, or 37 percent — decided on one of two newer buyout packages being offered by Ford:
* Under a special termination-of-employment program, workers who volunteer to leave the company and forgo all benefits, except pension benefits already accrued, could receive $100,000.
* Under an educational opportunity program, workers with one year of service are eligible to receive up to $15,000 in college tuition for up to four years. They will receive medical benefits and half of their regular pay while enrolled in school.
At the former Visteon plants being run by Automotive Components Holdings, 795 workers took buyouts, company spokeswoman Della DiPietro said. Of those, about 240 workers, or 30 percent, opted for the lump-sum buyout, and 129, or 16 percent, opted for the educational program. The rest took a traditional early retirement package. Ford began offering the programs earlier this year at plants being idled in Edison, NJ, and Lorain, OH. They were then extended to plants in St. Louis and Wixom, MI.
Copyright 2006 Detroit Free Press. All Rights Reserved.
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