The Daily Press is reporting the possibility that the Norfolk Ford plant may actually be closed early as a part of the “Way Forward” restructuring plan. It lays out the following reasons:
— Ford officials said a fundamental shift in the marketplace, with consumers turning away from SUVs and even the F-150, made the accelerated plan necessary. Ford has said that once Norfolk closes, the company could maintain the same level of F-150 production at only two plants, in Dearborn, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo.
— In a rare move, Ford already has demonstrated that it will react to a downturn in truck demand. The Norfolk plant was quiet this past week, during the first of four shutdown weeks Ford called for due to lagging truck sales. The plant also will close for three previously unscheduled weeks of idling in September.
— While pickups, the F-150 in particular, have been Ford’s mainstay for decades, the latest news on the company’s major future investment takes a step away from that. The company is considering a $1 billion investment in Michigan facilities to make them more efficient and to develop hybrid vehicles.
— The current contract with the United Auto Workers Local 919, with 2,275 wage earners at the Norfolk plant, is up on Sept. 14, 2007. That could be anywhere from six to 12 months before the plant is supposed to close, meaning Ford could avoid renegotiating for such a short period if the plant closed sooner.
These are strong indicators of an early plant closing. For the sake of the Ford families in the area, I hope it doesn’t happen.
UPDATE: PilotOnline is reporting that the Norfolk plant will curtail production this year.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
ford pooped on norfolk , the plan was 2008 and they renegged and dropped the hammer at the beginning of the holiday season in 2006 ( 9-16-06 ) , how many families and sub-families are going to be displaced and in a downward spiral , it is sad to see a lack of loyalty to the working man , so sad . it happens all too often in this commenwealth state , I think they should drop the common wealth part……noone is getting wealthy , and we are all ust getting screwed which is what makes it so common .Make this a worker rights state .
p.s. restore voter rights to all pple who have served thier sentences and want to get thier life on track