The Pilot is reporting that the Norfolk Ford plant is on the list to be closed in 2008. The plant employs some 2,500 people and builds the top-selling F-150 truck.
This plant has won awards for efficiency. I toured the facility last summer and was impressed with the operation. The most surprising thing to me about the plant tour was that some of the original buildings were still in use.
The loss of the plant will no doubt be felt throughout the region.
Fellow Hampton Roads Blogger Bearing Drift has the press release from our representatives.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
WTF? What are they doing down there to keep these jobs?
Vivian: Are they moving the facilty (overseas maybe?) or will they stop production alltogether?
There's apparently not much that can be done. The decision to close the plant is final, according to today's article. A loss of $160 million payroll is going to have a tremendous effect on the economy of Southeastern VA and NC.
Ingrid: my understanding is that this is a reduction in production capacity by Ford; they simply have more capacity to build vehicles than they have buyers. While the closing of the plant was not mentioned when I toured it last summer, they (management) did talk about excess capacity and that there is another truck facility that could manufacture the same F150s that are being done in the Norfolk plant.
Parts of the original 1925 plant are still in use, which I found quite interesting on my tour.
Vivian:
I visited this plant a couple times last spring to talk to the UAW leadership. I remember that there were concerns that about falling sales for Ford. I am sorry to see this plant close. Those were good jobs which are hard to replace. Hope you’re doing well. Keep up the great work!
Hi Chap! Good to see you here.
The plant closing seems to have caught everybody by surprise. The mayor and the governor visited Ford in February and the conversation apparently never turned to Norfolk. We have nothing here that will replace the jobs lost nor the tax revenue from the plant. So we can just forget about a real reduction in real estate tax rates.