NORFOLK — The Ford Motor Co. plant that produced the storied Model T is closing today, resulting in an estimated loss of 3,000 jobs in the area.
The plant’s last Ford F-150 truck is slated to roll off the line at the Norfolk Assembly plant this morning, ending production at the factory, which has been in operation since 1925.
During World War II, its production was turned over to the government, but otherwise it has produced a succession of Ford vehicles, including Model As, Galaxies, LTDs, and light trucks. It has concentrated on F-series trucks since 1974.
Ford said in April 2006 that the Norfolk plant would be closed as part of the company’s “Way Forward” plan to restore its North American automotive operations to profitability. The original 2008 planned closing for the plant was moved up by a year in September.
The head of the local auto workers union yesterday blamed the shutdown of the 82-year-old Ford truck plant and the subsequent loss of 3,000 jobs on poor management.
Chris L. Kimmons, president of the United Autoworkers Local 919, said the workers in the plant and related businesses are being laid off because Ford invested in production of such vehicles as Jaguars and Land Rovers instead of investing in modern technology in its U.S. plants.
“They got too hungry,” he said.
Without expansion into the other product lines, he said, the workers at the Norfolk plant would not be facing layoffs.
“Mismanagement” and unfair international trade rules are sending Ford to the bottom and forcing it to build back up, he said.
“And Ford still might not make it,” he added.
Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari in Detroit would say only that there are “many business factors that go into a decision to idle a plant,” among them logistics, investment efficiencies and whether the plant has flexible tooling.
In addition, she said, Ford has more manufacturing capacity than it needs.
Nevertheless, the workers here are going to feel the pinch.
The plant has provided a good living and plenty of overtime, with workers making $50,000 a year or more, Mr. Kimmons said.
The hourly rate for workers in the skilled trades is in the upper $20s, with production workers and material handlers earning $2 to $3 less an hour, for about $26 to $27 an hour, he said.
Workers are unlikely to make that kind of money if they move to another job in the area, he said.
He said he has some leads for laid-off workers, but $16 to $17 an hour is at the high end.
“Let’s put it this way: Jobs are scarce down here.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.