A Statement by Matt Erard, Socialist Party Candidate for State Representative (Michigan, district 53)
20 September 2006
On September 15th the Ford Motor Company announced that it has revised its “New Way Forward” plan to slash 44,000 union jobs and close sixteen North American auto plants by the end of 2008. Ford’s announcement has come on the eve of widespread layoffs and pay cuts that have permeated throughout the automotive industry in the past few years, particularly affecting workers in Michigan. While the company has attempted to soften its public image from this attack by offering workers buyout packages ranging from $65-$140,000, one is pressed to find a single instance in the corporate press where this has been contrasted with the $10-20 million salaries of its top executives who directly benefit from this cut. The argument that the company lacks the money to maintain these jobs is an utter deception. The “New Way Forward” is in reality the way to keep Ford executives’ extreme concentration of wealth going forward as the lives and communities of thousands of workers who created this wealth are shattered...
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