Cars and Drivers
Ford Delays October Sales Report, Reaches Deal With Canadian Workers
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Automakers are scheduled to report U.S. October sales Tuesday morning. All but one, that is. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has postponed its report until “later this week” as a result of a fire in the company’s headquarters building in Detroit last Monday. The electrical fire forced the evacuation of the building and shut down the sales reporting system from dealers.
Ford is expected to post a sales decline of about 11%, according to analysts at Edmunds, and total industry sales are forecast at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.7 to 17.9 million units, down from 18.1 million units in October 2015.
The automaker has reportedly reached a labor agreement with its Canadian union, Unifor, that includes a $522 million investment in Ford’s Canadian plants. The deal is similar to agreements reached between the union and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU).
According to union president Jerry Dias, Ford has agreed to introduce a major engine program at the company’s Windsor, Ontario, plant and secures future operations at the Oakville, Ontario, plant for continued exports of the company’s Edge, Flex and Lincoln MKS and MKT crossover vehicles. Both sides declined to discuss further details of the agreement until union members vote on the tentative deal. The voting is set for the coming weekend.
Under the agreements already ratified by the union with GM and FCA, workers will receive a $6,000 signing bonus, legacy workers receive a 4% raise over the life of the deal and new hires get wage increases each year under the 10-year grow-in period, which remains in place.
Not all of Ford’s Canadian workforce is likely to be satisfied with the deal, according to a report at Automotive News. The Oakville Local 707 wanted a shorter grow-in period and no changes to the defined-benefit pension plan for new hires, items that were not included in the pattern deals with GM and FCA.
Ford stock closed up about 0.2% on Monday to $11.74, and it has traded higher by nearly 0.3% in Tuesday’s premarket session at $11.77. The stock’s 52-week range is $11.02 to $14.87, and the consensus 12-month price target is $12.78.
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