Ford next to forge deal with UAW

DEARBORN, Mich. — The main planks of the United Auto Workers union’s deals with General Motors and Chrysler will help Ford Motor Co. become more competitive, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said Friday.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Mulally also said he speaks often with UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, whom he considers a business partner in turning around the automaker.

Ford is next up in negotiations with the labor union, which on Wednesday ratified a historic four-year deal with General Motors Corp. and reached a similar agreement with Chrysler LLC the same day. Before the deals were reached, the union went on strike briefly against both companies.

“The basic framework, the elements of it are very transformational,” Mulally said. “It’ll increase our competitiveness tremendously.”

Typically the UAW uses the contract with the first company, which this year was GM, as the pattern for bargaining with the other two U.S.-based automakers.

At the start of contract talks in July, all three companies were seeking to close a roughly $25-per-hour labor cost gap with Asian competitors who have factories in the United States.

Mulally would not say whether the GM and Chrysler contracts go far enough for Ford, nor would he discuss whether Ford could match job security guarantees that are in the GM contract.

“We’re each in different situations,” he said. “I am really looking forward to continuing to work with the UAW to increase the quality and competitiveness of Ford.”

Ford is generally considered to be in the weakest financial position of the Detroit Three. It lost $12.6 billion in 2006 and has mortgaged its factories to secure a $23.4 billion line of credit to cover losses and fund its restructuring plan, which calls for closing 16 facilities by 2012. It doesn’t expect to return to sustained profitability until 2009.

Mulally said his relationship with Gettelfinger, who came up through the UAW ranks from a Ford plant in Louisville, Ky., should help in the negotiations.

“He’s a business partner in this. He cares as much as anybody about the quality and the productivity and the competitiveness of Ford,” Mulally said. “I feel like I’ve got really a good partner that cares about the same thing, that we’re going to do the best we can for Ford.”

Two people briefed on the contract talks said Ford is seeking to further cut its U.S. work force through buyout and early retirement offers.

The people, who didn’t want to be identified because the talks are private, said Ford likely would seek another round of early retirement and buyout offers to get the cuts.

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