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EF F I L I A T E 9 0 p
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I N F O R M A T I OSNE R V I C E-S A T R A N S N A T I O N AI N
L S T I T U TA
The FordMotorCompany
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9 P o l a n dS t r e e t .L o n d o nW l . 0 1 4 3 9 3 7 6 4
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N G 74 E T .
Far right. Henry II
ERRATUMPAGE26
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The Ford Motor Company is in the tionally by geography'and nationality. ary. and governmentwagefreezescited to
business of making money out of car- Ford, on the other hand. benefitsirom justify their refusal.Tax incentivesand
workers. To do this it mounts a constant its centralisedcontrol of manaqement s u b s i d i e sa b o u n d a s n a t i o n a l g o v e r n ments compete for Ford's favours.Ford
three-pronged attack: on wages, on strategy.
productivity levels, and on workers'
flourishesin Europe while Europeancar
I n E u r o p e .l o r e x a m p l e .t h e U K w o r k - firms struggle to survive.The company's
attempts to organisethemselves.
force is threatened*rth an embargoon ability to make record profits at the
In order to extract greater productivity further UK investmentunlesscontinental expenseof Europeanworkersand national
(more work for the same pay) from its levels oi productivity are achieved. economies gives us some indication of
employees, Ford plays workforces off Dagenhamworkersare told that it takes Ford's far greater muscle when dealing
againstone another.This has traditionally them i57 longer than Genk (Belgium) with countries of the Third World in
been done by playing section against workersto oroducethe Cortina.Halewood Latin America and South East Asia,
section, black worker against white rr orkers are told that their record in Ford's other arenasof complementation
worker, immigrants against nationais. meeting production targets is abysmal investment.
skilled worker against unskilled worker. compared to continental plants. MeanThe Ford Motor Company wageswar on
women againstmen. The increasedglobal- while. GermanFord workersare told that
its workersin order to increaseits profits.
isation which is the hallmark of current their plants are lessprofitable than those
Each victory won by the company, each
Ford strategy has now added a new of the UK or Spain owing to the appre- productivity
deal squeezedout of a weak
dimension to the company's offensive. ciation of the Deutschmark!
plant and then used as a precedentto
Complementation - the assemblyof a At every turn the ultimate threat is <lf attack other plants,meansbiggerbonuses
single product or model from com- unemployment.The companyworks hard for the multi-millionairesof top manageponents made in many different coun- at fosteringan image of national identity ment, increased dividends from their
And eachdefeat
tries and plants - has been developed wherever it operates,representingitself enormousshareholdings.
further by Ford than by any other as a local employer and exporter, with sustainedby the workforce means more
company. This enablesFord to manipu- the country's interestsat heart, and play- inhuman working conditions, a greater
late its employees in many different ing down the fact that its subsidiaries subordination to the tyranny of the
countries as a single workforce geared are controlled from the USA. Meanwhile assemblyline, and a shorter route to the
to a single programme. In the battle the host governments actively support human scrapheapwhich is as integral a
between workers and company the and complement its attack on the work- part of every Ford factory as a slagheap
workers remain fragmented organisa- force. Wageincreasesare called inflation- to a coalmine.
The ArnericanRoad
The North American Motor Industry is undergoing a unique crisis. It is an evolutionary crisis, a
chrysalis change. For major monopolists, GM and Ford are embarking on a radical resiructuring of
their global operations
'A sixth
of US jobs, a sixth of GNP, a
sixth of every retail dollar is locked into
the auto industry. A fifth of American
steel, a third of zinc. a tenth of aluminium, two thirds of rubber is tied to
autos'(Rothschild).
their global operations. The ramifications chemicals,and the younger manuf'acturof this restructuring are so extensiveas ing industriessuch as electronicsincrease
to require a reappraisalof what we mean their productivity growth from year to
by a multinational company,its power to year in responseto technologicalinno
affect people's lives, and its relationship vations,the auto industry is, in productivwith the state.
ity terms, over the hill.
Between 1977 and 1985 the American Both Ford and GM are geared over- Sloanism,the scienceand psychologyof
auto industry is expectedto spendsome- whelmingly to the manufacture of sellingcars and creatingmarkets,is reachthing like $55 billion on capital invest- vehicles - in Ford's case over 90% of ing a parallel impasse. This does not
m e n t i n i t s h o m e b a s e .T h i s i s d o u b l e turnover comes from vehicle sales.The mean that the North American market is
what the nation spent in putting a man mainstay of production remains the dead - far from it. The US still provides
on the moon. As befits the leaderin the classicassemblyline developedby Henry over 507o of salesand profits fbr Ford
domesticmarket,GeneralMotors will be I, on which largenumbersof production and g0% for GM. over lOmillion carsare
spendingthe lion's share.a stupendous workers perform short repeated cycles sold in the USA evety year, but 8million
. h e F o r d M o r o rC o m p a n v . of movements.Vast plantsiuch as Ford's of these are replacements.A central aim
$ 3l . 5 b i l l i o n T
with an estimated$lbillion home inveit- at Rouge, Michigan, and GM's at Lords- of marketing policy in the industry has
m e n t e a c hy e a r b e r w e e n1 9 7 7a n d 1 9 8 5 town, Ohio, utilise basically the same been to create the appearanceof new
s h o u l d n o t c h u p a t o t a l o f g l 8 b i l l i o n . approach as in Henry lsts original plant models every year. A large proportion
Chryslerwill come in a rnodestthird at at Mack Avenue,Dgtroit, where the first of trade is with companies with large
$0.:Uiition.(AuromotiveNews 21.11.77) Model A's were produced. Despite com- fleets of cars and car-hirefirms, who see
puterisation, welding robots, and three it in their own competitive interest to
This, bi' far the greatest investment quarters of a century of technical innoalways have the most recent models
programmein the history of the industry, vation, car manufacture
is still firmlv available.But now the market is reaching
marks a totally new phaseof production dependant on the line worker. With 19
saturation.
and competition aimed at downsizing North American plants operating
on this In l92O there was one car for every 13
t h e e n t i r e m o d e l r a n g eo f a l l t h e c o m - principle, there is no way in which Ford
Americans. men. women and children.
paniesrn order to meet federallegislation
restructure production techniques In 1930 this was up to one car per 5tb
9an
o n f u e l e c o n o m y .l t i s a l s o a i - m e da t from the bottom up - even if
the tech- Americans. In 1950, one car per 33/+
dealingu'ith the growingthreatof impor- nology were available
for complete Americans. In 1970, one car per 2%
ted cars. mainly Japanese,which have automatl0n.
Americans.In terms of growth, the heyp e n e t r a t e dt h e U S A m a r k e t i n l 9 j 7
day of the US car industry at home was
to a record levelof nearly20%.And, of
the 20s and 30s. By thi time of the
course. they are all embarking on the
Great Depressionthe US had achieveda
i n v e s t m e npt r o g r a m m ei n o r d e i t o s t a y Saturation
level of car ownershipthat the UK only
competitivewith eachother.
The other consideration limitine the
futher development of Fordism is the reached in 1966, and Holland only
Competition has always been the main
reached in 1910.
human element - the limitations and 'Io
stimulusto changein the auto industry,
market saturation as a hindrance to
resistanceof the assemblyworkers themand as the pacehashotted up the weaker
s e l v e sT. h e w o r k c y c l e s ,m o v e m e n tas n d growth, is currently added the rocketing
operationshave gone to the wall. From
operating speeds imposed on the line costs of car ownership.In many areasol
the hundredsof smallworkshopsproducworker have been refined over the years the USA over the last two years auto
ing carsin the first decadeof this centurv.
t o t h e p o i n t w h e r et h e a t t e m p tt o s c r e w insurancecostshave gone up 50%.As list
t h e f i e l d h a s n a r r o w e dd o w n t o t h r e e
further ouncesof effort and productivity prices, interest rates,fuel and repair bills
major producers,GeneralMotors, Ford are as likely as not to
be counterproduc- all increase,the private owner is becomand Chrysler, with American Motors tive, through deteriorating
work, ill ing less likely to trade in his car after
hanging on as a shaky fourth which may health, absenteeism.
or activeresistance. owning it for only a short time.
well not survive this latest surse of
competition.
Between1919 and 1930, productivityin
the US auto industry increased by an Competition
average.
8.6% p.a., while for US industry
USA Advertising Expenditure
Productivity
as a whole the figure was only 1.9% p.a.
Cars and Trucks - 1975-1976
The North American motor industry is Between 1960 and 1971 however,lhe
us$
1976
19 7s
undergoinga unique crisis.It is an evolu- average auto industry productivity inGeneral
tionary crisis, a chrysalis change. The crease was down to 3%. It has since
Motors
2 4 7 , 5 9 t , 3 0 0 1 75 , 4 4 3 , 9 8 3
major monopolists, GM and Ford, are dropp_edbelow 2%. (Rothschild) While
Ford
1 5 9 , 4 1 3 , 6 0 0 108,662,4Q0
embarking on a radical restructuring of the 'flow-line' industriessuch as'oil and Chrysler
79,100,000 63,910,000
to do the TV commercial for the new
Zephyr.
But despitethe enormoussumsspent on
advertising,despitethe attempt to compete throughout the model range and
despitethe effortsof 5000 Ford PR men,
the fact remainsthat Ford's shareof the
Americanmarketis contracting.
Retail Car and Truck Salesin
US and Canada
Ford marketshares(%)
c
q
-',,ry
$
ffi
$
USA
Trucks
Cars
3 7. 3
t970 26.4
35.2
23.5
197|
34.2
19'12 24.3
32.8
t973 23.5
32.5
1974 24.9
31.5
1975 23.6
30.9
t976 22.6
Canada
Cars Trucks
35.7
23.0
34.0
2r.6
30.8
2t.8
31.1
2r.6
31.6
22.0
33.2
22.0
32.0
19.6
Between 1970 and 1975 GM's market
sharewasas follows;
*#*-*'
USA
Cars
1970 39.7
1975 43.3
Trucks
38.2
4r.l
Canada
Cars
30.2
40.4
Trucks
3s.7
40.8
(Automotive Task Force, Aprtl 1977)
Profitability
*=.
.'i
The near saturation of the market in the
the falling rate of profits
USA aggravates
experiencedby all the auto majors.There
this.
are a number of ways of expressing
Straightforward profit figures are not a
good indicator, as they tell us nothing
about the reldtionshipbetween profits
and the size of the operation in terms
sharecapitaletc, However,
of sales,assets,
all the indicators demonstrate a fall in
the rate of return, and this is true for all
four of the largeUS motor manufacturers.
What theseshow most clearlyis that the
Ford Motor Company aiong with the
other major auto firms is showing a
decline in profitability. Ford's profitahas, at leastsincethe early sixties,
bility
'per
has
never
car' basis On the home front competition
The advertising
costson a
significantly and regularly below
been
areanimportantpartof pricecompetition. beenso fierce.Advertisingexpenditureis that of GeneralMotors, and the auto inat new recordlevels.
ln 1976thesewere:
dustry as a whole is now beginning
Ford's advertisingfor the Autumn of to be lessprofitable than manufacturing
GM $+0.19,
Ford$56.18,
19'17is 60% gearedto TV, and no expense industryasa whole.
andChrysler$67.28
has been spared - they evenbrougnt in
'Star
(AdvertisingAge)
Wars' Ford's inferiority to GM has been largely
the specialeffects man from
attributable to GM's vastly largercapital saw total imports of 1,781,000 - up engines may well become dominan
.
base, and its ability to profit from a 4l .08% on the same period in 1976. beforelong' (Times,28.11.77
).
wider rangeof modelsanda concentratlon Import penetration for' the 10 months
on the large car sector where profit was 18.75%of the market, and in several
margins are highest. Ford has also suf- months in 1977 penetration has been The World Outside
Ford is fighting to maintain its shareo
fered more than GM from the increasing almost 2O%.
a restrictedmarket in the USA. A drop in
penetration of the US car market by
Ford, which for yearsextolled the virtues import penetration.
and the possib
imported cars, particularly from Japan.
of competition and the free enterprise collapseof AmericanMotor
Corporatio
system, is now sufficiently worried by and fallback of
Chrysler may take the
imports to be talking about the possibility pressureoff for a while.
of import tariffs to protect the home
Imports
producers,
In 1950,the world productionofvehicle
The imports'% has increased
totalled 7.8million, of which 85% wer
as follows:
Ford, like the other American manufac- produced in North America. By 191
1965
6.3
turers.hopes that the hugelyexpensive world production had reached 21.'7
1966
7.4
downsizing programme will win back million, of which 417owere producedin
1967
9.4
some
of the ground gained by imports. North America. World production in
1968 10.6
The other major reasonfor downsizingis 1976 was 37.5 million, with only 34.7%
1969
I 1.3
to
comply with governmentlegislationon coming f.66 North America. The USA
1970
14.8
fuel efficiency. Average consumption is still undoubtedly the hub of the world's
1971 l5.l
across
all model rangeshas to be no less motor industry. Geographicallyit is stil
1972
14.6
the largetsinglemarket,andthe America
than 27.5 miles per gallon by 1985
1973 15.2
producers are, with their overseassub
up
from
18
present.
mpg at
The new
1974
15.8
1978 models are already smaller,lighter sidiaries,still taking the largest slice of
1975
18.2
and more fuel efficient than many of the the overall cake. Ford had the hiehes
in tSZO
1976 models.'Cutting the weight of cars numberof Europeanregistrations
(11.9%), while GM came fourth with
Although 197'l hasbeena recordyear for is going
to be all the harder becauseof
11%, after Renault and Peugeot/Citroe
vehicle salesin the US, the greatbulk of tougher
safety and pollution laws that
with | 1.5% each. All the indications are
the increasehascome from the importers. force
the manufacturers to add new
October 1977 was the 8th consecutiveequipment to their models. The days of that Ford, while continuing to struggle
month in which imports smashed all the eight cylinder car are almost it an for its share of the US market, will conrecords.The first ten months of the year end and four, rather than six cylinder centrate its searchfor real profits growth
in the strongestarea of iis activities the oveneasoperations.
The
'Big
Four' Motor Vehicle Manufacturers in USA
A n n u a l R a t e so f R e t u r n :
Net holit
Generol
Motors
1968
1969
I9'70
19'7|
r9'72
1973
1974
1975
12.4
I 1.5
4.3
10.6
11 . 8
11 . 8
4.6
5.8
divided by Total Assets %
l-ord
't.0
5.9
).2
6.3
/.J
1.0
l.J
Total
Industry
9.6
8.1
3.6
7.8
9.1
9.1
3.0
3.0
AII
Manufqcturing
Corporations
8.7
11
5.0
J.f,
b.5
7.9
6.1
7.'l
Source: C.alculatedfrom fi nancialstatements.
All manufacluringcorporationsratios compiled from US rrederatrrade commission
Auarrertyfutancqt Reportsl9j l-75 and US IRS Stalisticsof Incomes1960_70.
In 1976 Ford's International Automotive Operationsdivision sold l.8million
cars and trucks. These sales totalled
$7.9billion, cir 28% of total Ford Motor
Company sales.Pretax profits on these
saleswere $705million,'or41% of total
profits. Ford makes or assembles
carsin
18 countries, and distributes auto Dro
ducts through 3.860 dealers in 200
countries.For the last 5 yearsFord overseas retail sales have been more than
8%higherthan GMs.
Ford's worldwide penetration was 8.4%
of the total market in 1975 . 9.5% in
1976. and 10.37oin the first quarrerof
1 9 7 7 .T h e C o m p a n ye s l i m a r e s ' t htaotr a
dverseassales will be l.gmillion units
for the wholeof 1977.
The industry has for a number of years
been talking about the 'world car' and
o'
o
o
River Rouge
|"',,
Fd
,q
world complementation.lt now seems haveservedits purposeby 198I whenthe as the World Bank (under ex-Ford pr
likely that the Ford Motor Companywill Pinto replacement can take over, and dent Robert McNamara)and the In
be the firstof theautocompanies
seriously foreignbuilt cdrswill no longerbe eligible American Development Bank to d
to embarkon this development.
for inclusion in fleet averagesanyway. approve further loans. The corporati
includingFord. joined the campaig
'The
day is not far off when manufac- The new rationalisationprogrammein the
instructed
by refusingto sell vital sp
turers
and especiallyauto manufac- USA, on which Ford will be spending
p a r t sf o r t r u c k sa n d m a c h i n e r ye.v e n
turers- will be producingthe sameline $2billion a year until 1985,will give the
for a cash. Thus Ford was directly invol
of products for sale everywherein the home base the strengthnecessary
in the economicsabotage
of the Alle
radical
overseas
reorganisation.
world,with only themostminorvariations
regime
leading
to
its
overthrow
and
amongcountries'saidWilliamO. Bourke, We show
elsewhere
in this reporthow the impositionof the currentfascistreg
execulivevice presrdentof Ford North o p e r a t i ( ) n s
of the Ford MotorCompany
American Automotive Operations in influencethe lives
of its workers.and Global expansionand rationalisatioc
November1976. He went on to explain help
the powerof multinatio
distort the economiesof the less only increase
that the reason for worldwide consoli- developed
countries. The company's to influence political developmen
dation of automotiveproductswas the
relationshipwith the governmentof the trait that has not gone unnoticedin
'emergence'
of a single world market
USA is basedon its economicstrensth corridors of power. The US Natio
'
w
r
)
r
l
d
with a :ingle
s t y l e 'i n c o n s u m e r
r
n d i t s p o l i t i c am
l u s c l eT. h e r e l a t i u n s h i pWar College Strategic ResearchGro
preferences.
He saw as reasonsfor this
a study which conclu
is intimateand mutuallybeneflcial.Ford has produced
'homogenizing
'the phenomenon
the
of consumertastes'
that,
of grow
through modern communications.and benefits from the influence it can brins multinationalenterprise,prepondera
t
o
b
e
a
r
o
n
i
n
t
e
r
n
a
l
l
e
g
i
s
l
a
t
i
r
,
r
n
a
n
d
t
r
o
l
s
.
c
u
n
the economicsof transnational
producfrom the diplomatic American, can play a major role
tion which would'make the single-world and also, overseas,
protection
of
its
economic interests. improving our overall political, milita
products less expensive'.Or more profitand economicstrength.'
able, depending on which way you It is, for example,one of the US manuare seen as
look at it.
facturersoperatingin South Africa whose Global corporations
enginesbuilding 'the economicstren
in
terests
have
moved
the
US
to
oppose
Bourke firmly indicated a recurring
completetradesanctions
againstthe apar- of the FreeWorld'.The studypropos
t h e m eo f F o r d d e e i s i o rnn a k e r w
s h e nh c
hav
theid
regime.
government, in politicalstrategyin which MNC's
The
US
s t a t e dt h a t t h eg r o w t hm a r k e ti s o v e r s e a s ,
clearly defined role in the 'proliferat
turn,
political
benefits
from
the
and
and more than half of all vehicle sales
of the American system of valuesa
now take placeoutsidethe UnitedStates. propaganda role Ford plays in other way of life.' It
continues,'lf we wish o
'And, to take a longer look,
countries.
The
permotor
car,
after
all,
is
while those
haps the most appositepackagedsymbol values and life styles to prevail, we
sales are mostly in devcloped counof
the Americanway of life. And Ford obliged to compete with other cult
tries, no fewer than 72% of the world's
has
aidedthe aimsof the US sovernment and power centres.Multinational en
people live in the less developedcounprise offers a tremendouslever to t
ln more concrelewaystoo.
tries. These countries aren't going to
end. Its growing arsenalof foreign-b
stay undevelopedfor ever.'(Automotive
business operations is working for
Sabotage
Industries)
around the' clock. Its osmotic act
15.11.i976).
In October l97l US Secretaryof State transmitsand transfusesnot only Ame
HenryFord hasalreadymentioneda new William Rogerstold a closedmeetingof can methods of business operati
executivesfrorn ITT, Ford, Anaconda, b a n k i n ga n d m a r k e t i n gt e c h n i q u e sb
front-driveEscortto be launchedin l98l
Bank our legal systems and concepts, o
to replacethe Pinto in the US.(Automo- Purina, First National City Bank,
'the
Nixon political philosophies,our ways of co
tive News,May 1917) The car will alsobe America. and others. that
built and sold in Europe,and therewill Administration is a businessAdminis- municatingand ideasof mobility, an
be little or no difference between the tration.It's missionis to protectAmerican measureof the humanitiesand arts pe
EuropeanandAmericanmodels.Although business'.The subject under discussion liar to our civilisation.'
governmentof the Marxist
the Fiesta was describedas a world was the new
Salvador
Allende
in Chile.Accordinsto The study seesthe MultinationalCorp
car, and is sold in the US, it was never
J
o
h
n
P
e
t
t
y
.
A
s
s
i
s r a nSr e c r e r a r yo f - t h c ations as part of the state's politi
plannedto produceit in rhe States.and
in times of crisis a
Treasury,
this
was to be 'a new ball game armoury which
it will be phasedout of the US market
war would be 'committed in coniunct
with
new
rules'.
when the new Escortcomesin. It may
with other elemenls of natioiral a
well havebeenpromotedand sold in the The new rules included cuttins off of allied power . . . to weakenthe enemyb
US mainly in order to improvethe Ford E x p o r t - l r n p o r B
t a n k c r e d i t s o i w h i c h denying it resourcesand disrupting
mile-per-gallon
averagesfor the 1977/8 dependedvital imports from the US, and extemal commercialand industrialass
deadlineof the Federallegislation.
It will pressuring
multinationalinstitutionssuch and operations.'(Global Reach)
FordWorldwide
From its very beginning, Ford's successwas built on massproduction, mass production that needed a
market that could not be confined to one country or even one continent.
The Ford Motor Company is the third Outside the United States,the most im- necessarilyhas rigid structures. Tasks.
largestcompany in the world. It employs portant car manufacturingand assembly functions and responsibilitiesare clearly
almost half a million people and at least centresare in Germany,Britain, Canada, defined.... Obviouslythe final decision
two million more depend on Ford for Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, can be taken onty by top management,
their jobs. With assetsof over $18bi11ion,South Africa and Spain. While North but countlessother ranks are involvedin
the Ford Motor Company is as wealthy America accountsfor some 7O%of Ford. the preliminary skirmisheswhich lead up
and powerful as many dozensof smaller carsand truckssold.no lessthan 41% of to the final decision'.(Seidlerp.22) Top
nation states- but its ruler Henry Ford the Company's profits in 1976 were managementof Ford is the American
outsideNorth America.
is accountableto no electorate,least of generated
board - and in particular one man,
all to thosewhoselivelihoodsareaffected
Henry Ford II. Any decisionson investIn times of recessionin the US, these
ment involving more than $25m (about
by his decisions.
profits from outside the US becomeeven
! l4m) must be referred to the main
Secondlargestmotor firm in the world - more important.ln 1975,when US auto board in Detroit - headedby him.
only GeneralMotors is bigger - for the saleswere hit by the worst recessionfor
past thirteen years Ford has been 'the forty years, profits from Ford's overseas
number one US-basedauto firm outside operations accounted for no Iess than Speedup
North America'. It sells more cars in 71% of the total. Perhapseven more From its very beginning,the successof
Europe than any other manufacturer- significant,Ford'sinternationaloperations the Ford Motor Company was built on
including the European car companies. (i.e. outside North America) have been mass production, mass production that
the major areaof growth overat leastthe needed a market that could not be
ln 1916, Ford sold 5.4million vehicles past decade.The lower saturationof the
to one country or even one
worth $28.8billionor nearly f l7billion. car market outside North America. and confined
No less today, mass produccontinent.
ln 19'/7 it looks set to Dassits record of the larger populace, together with the
of scale and intertion,
the
economies
6 million vehiclesin one year. (Driven Ford vision of gradualworld-wide deveof production andmarkets
nationalisation
nose to bumoer. these would circle the lopment and risingliving standards,mean
are the keys to Ford's route to power.
equatorone anda half times!;
that the company seesits international
even more im- The Model T wasthe first and only world
Every year Ford's investment decisions operationsas pt-rtentially
a concept that Ford is trying
portant
profits.
to
the rate of car
Certainly.
allocatemillions of dollars,and the very
extremely hard to recreate today. In
size of these investments send prime increasein the number of vehiclesof all
I 9l I it was being built in Manchester,
ministersand presidentsrushingto curry makes sold outside North America has
becomingEngland'sbest selling
England,
Ford's favour. ln 1976, $55 I million was been almost double that within it in
the next year. In 1913 assembly
car
years,
recent
and
more
than
half
today
spent on modernisationand expansion.
the vehiclessold in the world are outside began in France,and in i916 the first
South American car assemblyplant was
Every year Ford employees produce the United States.
built in Argentina. New assemblyplants
millions of dollars of profits for Ford's
started in 1916 in Denmark, 1920 in
shareholders.In 1976 profits after tax
Spain,Braziland Uruguay,1922in Italy
were $983million, or an average$2,214 Control Decisions
from each worker. $263.4million was The Ford approach to the world was and Belgium, 1924 in Swedenand Chile
handed out to shareholders.Resultsfor summedup by Henry Ford II speaking and 1925 in. Japan. Through Ford of
1977 wtll be evenhigher. Between1948 in 1967'."At the moment, we arepaying Canada the Model T penetratedthe
and 19'76,no lessthan $5,208.lmillion our attention to the big markets where British Empire with assemblyin Australia,
(roughly 12,900million) has been given our penetrationis large.That's where we New Zealandand South Africa. By 1924
out to shareholders
by the Ford Motor say we can afford the top talent. I say Ford had built and sold ten million cars.
Company.
that we need the top talentin the small Already, many of the factorsthat characmarkets. That's the only way to make terise Ford today were apparentin the
them big."
produotionof the Model T: massinterOverseas
Ford sells and builds cars, trucks and
tractors all over the world. It also makes
missilesand satellites:is in the too
thirty companies supplying the US
armed forces is involved in property
development,
financeand insurance.
But
the name Ford means cars. And Ford
meanscarsall over the world,carsmanufacturedassembled
or sold in over 100
countries.
But despitethe spreadof the Ford Motor
Company, it remains very much an
American company. Control of the vast
empire is firmly held in World Headquarters, Dearborn. Michigan.Nothing essential is ever done in the whole corporation
unless it has been approved by Henry
Ford II. 'As a multinational company
establishedon the five continents, employing a total of 450,000people,Ford
national production;assemblyline techniques with work organisedso that each
into its simplest,
operationwassubdivided
fastest components, and the worker
becamejust an adjunct to the machine;
and a daily struggle for control on the
shop floor. When profits fell, as in 1925,
Ford had only one response:make the
car cheaper - which for the embattled
workforce meant speed-up.The infernal
working conditions and the bloody car." (Terry Beckett, Chairman Ford European factcries. They produce o
battlesover unionisationare part of Ford u K . 4 . 5 . 7 1 )
million gearboxesa year.
history.
Profit marginsin'the motor industryare Assembly
Flantsaremore labourintens
But the logic of falling profit margins everything and to increasethe profit
and
management's
problemslimit th
leadingto constantattemptsto impose on each car sold, the lowering of unit
\ l ) e e d - u po n t l t e w o r k l i , r e c r e r n l i n s . costs by making more of each com- size. The Fiesta is being assemble
(Spa
Valencia
Assemblyline technologyhas not radl- p o n e n ta n d e a c hc a r i s c r u c i a lI.n 1 9 7 1 , threecentres.Dagenham,
caily altered since its introducrionand beforethe oil crisis,Ford wascomplain- and Saarlouis (Gennany), produc
r,:finemenlin thc l9l0s. which lirnits rng that its prolit margin. at 4.lc/c of 100,000. 250,000 and 150,000 cars
the increases
in productivityto be gained sales compared unf'avourablywith an year respectively.
b r t l r e i n s t l l l a n r r(n, 1 n e \ , r n a rer i n c r y . r v e r a g e5 . 7 ' l f i ' r t 1 , . ' n r ' t
e o r l t p a n i e 5As a comparisoti.considerBritish Le
Managcmentproblemswithin assembly in the Dow-Jonesindustrialindex. and larrd's production record. ln 19
plants are notorious.and becomeover- 1.7%Ior
thenation's500largest
industrial Leylandproducedlessthan 700,000c
whelming it the workforces in such firms.
over its entire range , including r/z
p l a n t sb e c o m el o r r l a r g e .A n e m p i r i c a l
high volume low cost cars, the Mi
l i m i t t o t h e s i z eo f c a r a s s e m b lpyl a n t s Profit marginshave fallensteadily:from the Allegro,and the Marina.
of around 150.000 vehrclesa year has 8 . 5 % i n 1 9 5 O :8 . 1 % i n 1 9 5 5 ;6 . 7 7 ni n
beenset by Ford. So whenprofit margins 1 9 6 0 . 5 . 1 % i n 1 9 6 6 . t o 4 % i n 1 9 1 3 . Or take the largercars Ford has t
fall. as they havedonesteadilysincethe Realisticaccountsfbr Ford betbre the capacityto produce300.000Granad
1950s,Ford hasone response push up war just do not exist. but certainlythe year at Cologne.while Leyland'sto
the productivity of the workforce by GeneralMotors profit per vehiclein the. capacityfor Rovcr and Jaguarcombin
makinglt work harder.Speed-up,
cuts tn record year of 1973 was lower in real i s o n l y 1 9 0 . 0 0 0u n i t sa \ , e a r .
manning levels.increasedflexibility of terms(adjustedfor inflation)than it had The garnsto
Ford in terms of cutti
workers.fewer workersproducingmore b e e n i n 1 9 2 8 .I n t h e b a t t l et o i n c r e a s e costsare clearlvenormousand For
these
margins,
economies
of
scale
are
vehicles:theseare facts of life for Ford
policv ol sellingcars at whateverpri
protrtability.
cen
t
ral
to
workers.The processis assisted
by Ford's
thc markel *ill bearrransfers
thesega
capability to play one group of workers It hasbeenestimatedthat in order to be straightinto p rotlt s.
off againstanother. threateningworkers profitable at competitivepnces!a new
in country after country with no new small car in Europehasto be on a scale
Pricing
investment.or the ultimate Ford threat of at least 500,000 cars a year. The
The Fiestas
soldin Finlandandin Belsiu
-- withdrawal.
VolkswagenGolf sold .120,000in 1975,
r r e b o t h a s s e m b l eidn D a g e n h a m
Fr,
with a 500,000 a year targerfor follow- parts
fronr all over Europe but th
Economiesof scale
ing yearslthe Fiat 127 (on which Ford's
Finnish one costs two and a half tim
Today Ford organisesits production Fiestais largelybased)sold490,000units
as
much. 'Not all the differencecan b
across the flve continents
achievins that year, and the Renault 5 350,000. accountedfor by tax
and trim.' (Econ
(Jf scalethanksto The Fiestahas now beenlaunchedwith a
enormousectrnomies
mist 12.2.771SmallwonderFord exec
the sheer volume of its production.It target output of over 500,000 a year tives
dream of 'a world car in a wor
also achievesconsiderableindependence from 1977 onwards.This is desoitethe
'The'day
market'.
is not far off whe
from, and control over, local iconomic fact thar there is already considerableauto
manufacturers
will
be producingth
and social conditions. Workers in any over-capacityin the Europeansmall car sameline products
of
for saleseverywhe
one of Ford's hundredsof factoriesare market - estimatedat some30%.(Capital in
the world, with only the most min
daily subject to managementdecisions and Aass 2.)
variations among countries.' (Execuri
that appear arbitrary and unjustified.
Vice PresidentW. Bourke)
What is not apparentis that these deci- Capacity
sions are part of global strategies,involv- The level of internationalintegration of Terry Beckett,managingdirectorof For
ing workers in many other countries. production on the Fiesta is unpreceden- UK 'seesit as a consciousreturn to th
philosophy of Ford's original f 10
Their effects are known only to Ford's l e d . a n d p r o d u c t i o no n l h i s s c ; l e
means
P
o p u l a io f 1 9 3 5 ,o r e v e nr o - : h e: : m o
centralisedmanagement.
that component factoriesare running at
"Just over a year ago we comparedthe optimum levels. This allows massive Model T: that is buildins u: lrlum
costs of producing a Cortina with those automation, for componentfactoriesare t h r o u g hl o w p r i c e. . . F o r J : i : . , e o o
of a closecompetitor in terms of design, easierto automatethan assembly
plants. p o s i t i o n t o s t r i k e h a r d : . : : : . : . , n i t
-pioduce
suppliersand to reapthe re-.:'.=.:.: lar
but which was only being produced at The two Bordeauxplanrs that
scaleproduction'.(Finatlcu. 7l'r.-sI -.75
a third of the Cortina's volume
all the gearboxes,transmissions
and axles
The difference in cost, attributable to are highly automated, and on Ford's N o l o n l y d ( ' e sF o r ; - ' : E - - . : . : : - , i u c
economiesof scaleonly was !170 per own accounting,are their most productive o n a s c a l et h a t c a nb : : . = : : : : : : . : : r i .i
any of its Europeancompetitors,it also
has all the advantagesof being part of
the world-wideFord organisation.For
examplea largepart of the Researchand
Developmentcostsare borneby Detroil.
At the sametime Ford in Europecan run
its plants at optimum capacity- with a
larger in-company market for its componentsthan any of the Europeans.
Of
the first million gearboxesproduced in
Bordeaux, 640,000 went to the US cheaper gearboxesfor Ford all round.
There is too, a degree of world-wide
integration from which Ford of Europe
benefits.Cortina bodieslrom the Philippines, engines from Brazil, and kits
exported all ovel the world, all contribute to Ford's ability to operateat
the optimum level, cutting costs and
raisingprofits.
Company will not tolerate constraints
on its behaviour. and its multinational
operation, and sheer economic muscle
give it a great degree of independence
of and control over conditions in any
one country.
Therc are bound to be conflicts of
interest between the company and the
'Henry Ford II wants to control every- countries in which it oDerates one
small example is the way Ford gave its
thing that has his name on it' (Booton UK workforce a wage deal significantly
Herndon). And a lot more besides. outside the government'spay limits in
Profits mean power, and power protects late 1977, while the government,fearand maintains profits. The Ford Motor ful of putting the new Bridgendinvestment at risk, did and said nothing. In
Generalissimo Franco, fascist dictator of Spain at the time of the Valencia
negotiations
most caseswhich lead to confrontation,
Popperloto
Ford will pull out rather than accommodate.
..rr:::!l|.
*r
Control
As early as l9l9 Ford engaged
in a well
publicised show-down with the fathers
of the city of Cork. Ford had negotiated
extremely favourableterms for a leaseon
property owned by the city, and part of
the deal was a promise to employ 2000
workers. In the event only 1600 were
taken on. and the city fathersthreatened
publicly to cancelthe leaseunless400
more workers were employed. Henry
Ford immediately announcedthat he
would close the factory unlessthe threat
was withdrawn,stoppedwork there and
laid off 500 workers.He had no more
troublefrom Cork . . .
Immediatelyalier the secondworld war,
Ford of ltaly was reducedto a distribution operation'sincegovernmental
restrictions madeit ihrpossible
to competewith
Fiat in manufacturing'.In Britain at the
time, Ford itself was receivingjust such
favourablctreatment.'The Britishgovernment in the postwar years desperately
neededexports in order to get outside
money, and enabledthe Ford plantsto
obtain equipment and raw materials.'
(Herndon)
Even more desperate about its foreign
exchangeposition was the Indian government, which vainly tried to insist that
Ford manufacturewithin the country as
well as assembleimported kits. 'In I 945
the company placedthe Indian operation
in voluntary liquidation, which is corporationesefor saying the hell with it.'
(ibid)
Similarly, in Spain after World War By the end of 1966, Ford was on the
II, whenFrancotried to demandmanufac- Arab League boycott list, and has reture as well asassembly,Ford abandoned mained there ever.since. Now it seems
the operationrather than bend. Twenty likely that the ban will either be dropped,
yearslater,theSpanish
government
passed or at least partially, if not wholly, cira specialstatutealteringmanyconditions cumvented. in the foreseeablefutureof the lawson local-man
ufacture
d content After three years of negotiation,Ford
and minimum exDort reouirementsfor and the Egyptiangovernmenthaveagreed
foreign investors,especiallyso that Ford on the constructionof a $l45million
would build its new plant at Valencia. factory to produce 10,000 trucks and
50,000 dieselenginesa year. The project
In early 1966 the Palestine
Automobile will be
30% owned by Ford and 40% by
Corporation Ltd., which had been dis- the Egyptian governmentunusualfor
tributing Fords for 30 years, and was Ford
which likes to have total control.
sellingsome25,000vehicles
a year,began The plant
at Amneye, Alexandria, will
negotiationsfor a local assemblyplant.
assemblekits from Langley in the UK.
Assemblyfrom kits made in the United
When local content reaches1O%,in some
States,Britain and Germanywasalieady cight years
time, local manufacturewill
working well in Morocco, Pakistan,
beginin Egypt itself. lor PresidentSadat
Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines.
of Egypt, this investmentis vital. It marks
The Arab Leagueprotested,and threatened to put Ford on its boycott list.
At the time there were Ford dealershios
i n L e b a n o nS. y r i a .J o r d a n l. r a q .Y e m e n .
SaudiArabia and Egypt. Ford, as usual,
refusedto back down, and for once,so
did his opponents.Henry Ford II admitted that the decisionwas 'influencedin
part by the fact that the companystill
suffers from a .resentmentasainstthe
a n t i - s e m i l i sum
f r h ed i : t a n rp a s l W ew a rt]
to overcomethat.' (Herndon)
Nazism
Throughoutthe 1920sHenry Ford I had
usedhis personalnewspapertheDearborn
Intleperulent to write violently antisemitic signed articles. Frilz Kuhn,
leaderof the AmericanNaziswason the
Ford payroll, and as late as 1938 Henry
F o r d I r c c e p r c dr i r e N a z lG e r m a nE a g l e
{ f i r s t c l a s s l f r o m H i r l e r ' sg o v e r n m e n r .
The Cecorationwas in thanksfor Ford's
active help in Nazi Germany'\ prewar
preparations.
In 1938 it openeda truck
assembly
plant whosepurpose,according
to US Army Intelligence,
wasto produce
troop transport vehicles for the Wehrmacht. Ironically, after the war, Ford
receivedalmost a million dollars from the
US government,as compensationfor the
damage done to their German factories
by Allied bombing.
l0
:'ll
i,s
the first success
of his 'open-docrr'
s--;.-r'
o I t r i i n g t o a t t r a c t f o r e i g ni n v e t r : : n r
from the West,and Sadatis clearlr :rep a r e dt o l a k e o n r h e r e s t o f r h e ' A : : b
l-eagueand go ahead with it ,*heiher
or not the Arab Leagueagrees.
The Egyptian deal also shedslighi on
Ford's financialrelations*,ith its sur'sidiaries. The Egyptian Minister ci
Industry,Mr IssaShaheentried trr jnsist
t h a t F o r d ' s r e t u r n u n i t s r n r e . t n e n ir e
limited to 10% per 1ear. Three days
before agreementwas finalll reached.
he was dismissedfrom his post. Ford $ iil
maintain'itsright to take protlts aJ.ordHenry Ford II leaves Downing St aiter
threatening to end UK inyestment I 9 7I
s
Popperioto
Own and Control
The desire for total control extends to
the Ford Motor Company itself, and
particularly to its subsidiaries.Henry
Ford I set out quite ruthlessly to gain
control of the companyfrom the original
who had put up all the
shareholders
original capital, and successfullyforced
rhem out. By 1907he had a 5l% interest
by I 9l 9 it wastotally ownedby the Ford
family. In 1950 the companyboughtout
the controlling interests of the Ford
affiliatesin ltaly, Egypt,Spain,Holland,
Denmark,Swedenand Finland.In 1961,
it bought up the outstandingsharesof
Ford UK
desoite the fact that this
causeda national outcry, about capital
goingabroad.
Ke!stone
BesidesBritain's well developedengin
its low wagelevels.
eeringinfrastructure,
and the proximity to Ford's only European foundry at Dagenham,there were
sound political reasonsfor placing the
ing to normal practice,while limiting its new factory in the UK. About one-third
dividends to 2A/; (Financial Times of Ford's salesin the UK are of vehicles
2'1.1O.77).
imported from Continental plants, and
Some idea of the way Ford dealswith although the Fiesta is assembledin
national governmentson equal terms is Britain, over 50% of its parts come from
given by looking at the negotiations overseas.Although Ford of Europe is
behind the decision to site Ford's new planning to increase its output from
engine plant in South Wales. For six l.lmillion to l.Tmillion units in the
weeks,Henry Ford and his companywere early 1980s, it is unlikely that many
wooed by two Prime Ministers, and more of these vehicleswill be made in
offered millions by three European the UK. The company already imports
governmentsin their efforts to u'in the large numbers of cars to take advantage of British tryland's weaknessit
planr.
will have to import even more. These
In fact, the decisionto site the factory imports are a highly sensitive area, and
in Wales had been as good as taken as for a company like Ford to maintainits
early as July 17 - when the board of political goodwill, some counter-investFord Europe met and made this recom- ment is necessary.'With the new South
mendation. From then till September Wales engine plant, the biggest single
9th three governmentswere kept in investment in the UK motor industry
the dark - and their financial offers since the 1960s, Henry Ford has demoncrept up. The final amount of govern- strated his intention to win the battle
ment money going to the f,I 85million for acceptability in the most dramatic
investmentis in the reeionof f,70million. way possible.' (Financial Times 1O.9.77)
Edsel Ford II, heir to the empire
In America particularly,Ford controls
its raw materials by producing them
itself. wheneverthis is feasible.It makesa
substantialamount of the iron and steel
that the parent company requires,and
has been expandingits steel capacity
The Steel Division maintains a fleet of
five vesselson the Great Lakes, which
transDortsome six million tons of iron
ore, coal and limestone each year. The
Glass Dvision produces almost all the
glass Ford uses, and sells to outside
markets.Ford even owned a rubberplantation in Brazil at one point, but when
this was devastatedby disease,sold it
to the Braziliansovernmen
t.
Transfer Poficy
Like any other multinational company,
Ford can choosewhere it wants its profits
to show - and within wide margins how
large they should look. The financial
flows - the movement of money from
one company account book to anotheroften bear no resemblanceat all to the
reality of cars and parts shipped around
the globe and the making and selling of
vehicles.
For example,Cortina bodiesproducedat
the body stampingplant in the Philippines
(together with engines produced in
Taiwan) are exported to England. The
company is managed by Ford AsiaPacific Inc of Australia. But financially
money from the Philippinesgoesto Ensite
l
PhilippinesLtd. which is wholly owned claimedprofits of only f.5.6millionafter to l96l- the company
had repatriated
by Ensite Ltd of Canada,itself wholly tax, decidedthat the amount available almost
$2billion of protits ltr the US'
owned by the Ford Motor Company. for distribution{o shareholders
was in (Herndon).By 1972.Ford s sharenoldings
i n i t s E u r o p e ahno l d i n e \s\ e r e\ \ , ' r t l t) o m e
Ford companies selling to other Ford fact !67.,lmillion.
. h i sr e p r e s e - nar el m
d , , ret n l l r e l v
companies can, in fact, charge what An irnportantinsightinto the company,s $ l b i l l i o n T
suits their overall best interests.to show financial deaiingscame in I 961 whin . t h e r e i n v e s t eeda r n i n gosi d u i n cL u i i n e s r
,
a profit where they wish. For example, Henry Ford set about buyingup the45% in Europe for someb0 \'e3r. i:r r s,,ud
y e a r . l r o w e v e rd
. i v i d e n J si : , ' l t t r r , , p e
Ford of Venezuelais clairninglargelosses outstanding
interestin the UK company.
as its reason for not contplyingwith It was a time of austerityin the United b r i n g p e r h a p s$ l l O m i l l i o ni n r . , : h r U S . '
(Forbes1.7.72')
increases
in the local-man
ufactured con- Slates.and there was a public outcry
l e n l i r w 5 t l t e V e n e z u e l agn, r v e r r r r t r ei sn l about the US gold shorfage,and thi The new engine plant in Sourh \\'eles.
trylng to inipose.'One official pointed wickednessof spendingabroad. Henry fbr example,will be entireh ilnrnced
out that both 'ends' of thc systent
Ford II was forcedto admit that 'all ei- f r o r n U K s o u r c e s t l t e l e i : r : - . r p l l 3 1
toreign rnanut'acturer
and local retail pendituresabroadcameout of earnings export by the Ford luor.,: Crncany.
dealer
can realisehandsonreprofits abroad.and that in the decadefrorn l gil
only repatriation
of protirs
while the local assemblertakes a loss'.
(rt-inancialTimes 2.\ 1.76) No counrry
Earningsfor YearendedDecember3lst in millionsof dollan
has yet establishedlbol-proof rnethods Year
Net Sales
Operating Profit
Net hofir
E,nplI ees
of counteringsuch transl'erpricing.and
',,.t,rlJvid e
)
Ford. of all companies.
would be the last t976
28,840
1
,
5
8
6
.
9
.1.r,i.900
9
8
3
.
1
to respondto pressure.
1975
24,001
436.4'
.+I 6.100
322.,1
1974
Funny Money
23,621
605.2
327.1
464.700
23,015
1,553.8
The pay claim submitted by Ford's t973
906.5
474,300
20,194
hourly paid workers in the UK shows l q T t
1,617.9
87 0 . 0
442,600
16,433
how, even when the money has finally 1971
1,267.4
656.433,I 00
14,980
come to rest in a givencompany'sbooks, 1970
I ,014.8
515.431,700
profit figuresareimmenselymanipulable. 1969
t 4 , 75 6
1,110.0
5.16.5
436.100
t4,075
Statedprofitsfor 1976wercll2i.6million r 968
1,278.9
616.6
4l 5.000
before tax, d59.lmillion after tax. (ln 1967
l 0 , sr 6
149.8
lq4 i.l
8.+.1
fact only tTmillion of tax was really 1966
122.40
1,157.5
6:1.0
388.000
paid - the rest was 'deferred', which 1 9 6 5
I ) R )s
11,537
703 0
36.+.-i00
meansit will neverbe paid. Delerredtax 1964
9,671
985.8
505.6
336.r00
is now financing more than a fifth of 1963
8,742
1,028.2
488.5
316.600
capital employed.) But Ford went on 1962
.180.7
8,090
I ,007.1
30:.600
from this to claim that currenr cosl l 9 6 1
,109.6
6,709
8l8.4
: 6 1 . Ir 0
profits (allowing fbr the effectsof in- 1 9 6 0
6,798
842.4
4)7.9
:66 -,r'l
flation on the costs of replacingplant 1 9 5 9
6,649
933.1
45t.4
and machinery)were only !25.l million 1 9 5 8
5,281
253.7
116.2
lro.-'r'r
before tax, or f.5.6millionafter tax. Not 1957
6,839
632.8
294.0
satisfied by these figures, the union 1 9 5 6
4,641
142.6
248.2
: O. .. ,','
negotiatorscalled in a highly respected 1 9 5 5
5,594
929.2
154.2
:r'.,
firm of stockbrokers
to givean indepen- 1 9 5 4
4,062
463.9
212.6
::,:.:',
dent analysisof the accounts. They 1 9 5 3
4,211
478.9
t 7 9. 1
l:-: -,,_
agreedthat Ford's stated current cost 1 9 5 2
r;i
2,640
256.v
12.4.8
"
profit of f.25-1millicnwas a grossunder- r 9 5 l
)'741
346.6
136.4
estimate,and put forward the figureof 1 9 5 0
3,029
5t2.6
259.6
,e46.6millionas more realistic.127.1- 1949
2.249
287.2
171.8
million after rax. Even the Financial 1 9 4 8
1.972
160.8
103.8
Iinres was promptedto ask'Sowhy does 1917
1.502
9 5 I.
68.8
the CCA (currentcost accounting)figure 1946
894
d,14.3
d1.2
come to be so krw?It hardlymakessense (Source:Moody'sIndustrialManual1977)
in the context of a lT4million improve- The valueof salesperemployee
rosesteadilyfrom $13,332in 1952to alm.,:::::
ment in liquidity ar a time of rising per worker in 1976.
At the sametime the numberof vehiclesproduced::. activity.' (Financial Times 26.3.77) The a l m o s td o u b l e d f r o r n
6 . 2 i n 1 9 5 2t o 1 2 . 2p e r y e a ri n 1 9 7 6 .N e t p r o f i r- . .
directors of the company, despitethe hasalsorisen,thoughmoreerratically,
lrom $630ln 1952to $1214i; l9-^
' \ !
l2
r
l l l
OnThe Line
Car production is the most e\rren,te
example of modern industrialisat
ion. It
is the birth place of automation and the
birth place as well of the assemblyline's
inescapablebyproducts: drudgery.stress.
and the dehumanisation
of work.
At the River Rougeplant nearthe Dearborn headquartersof the Ford N{otor
Company,the entire manufacturing
processis carriedon in one vast industrial
complex. From the moment the ore.
coal and limestonearrive at the plant.
until a worker jumps into the finished
Mustang.turns on the engineand speeds
off the line, only 33 hours havepassed.
This cornplex alone, the largest selfcontainedfacility in the world,consumes
nlore than six million tons of iron ore,
coaland limestoneeachyear
Every day it generates
enoughelectricity
to light a city of a million people,burns
enoughcoalto heatthehomesof330,000,
consumesenoughgas lbr a city of Itulrnillion. and uses,l25million gallonsof
$ater. It operates20 diesellocomotives
and some860 rail wagonson more than
100 miles of railway track. Within the
complexare 229 coke ovens,3 blast furnaces,rolling mills, a giganticfoundry,
an engineplant,a glassplant,an assembly
plant...
I
t".' \
l"i
E 7'
i\
2
g
The 35.000 employeesare dwarf'edby
machineryand plant, but at every stage
o{ production.singly or in groups.tftey
do the work. They cast the engines
in the foundry:They operatethe presses
as the steelis stampedinto shape.Thev
piece together the body, build up the
engines.
and finallyassemble
the car from
thousands
of bits.
Throughout the length and breadth of
the complex, rollers, conveyor belts,
chainsand gatelinespull the component
partsof thc car relentlessly
ro completion.
In the Rouge plant. the tinal assembly
line is 1200 feet long. travellingat 1700
feet an hour. Carsare put together.and
vehiclesroll off the end at a rate of
60 eachhour.
The assemblyline is noisy and chaotic,
the air filled with the smell of oil and
rubber, with automatic wrenchesgiving
l3
off piercingscreams.Bumpers.bonnets
h a n g i n go n h o o k sI i k e c a r c a s s ersu.m b l e
overhead and are fed onto the linc.
Co.qputers
match coloursand styleswith
dil'ferenrbody models.Tyresrhud down
c h u t e sa n d a r e i n s t a l l e b
d y w o r k e r sw i t h
power wrenchesthat tighten all the
wheel bolts simultaneo
us-ly. Seats are
c a r r i e dl o r h e l i n e a n d t h e nj u g g l e tiln r , ,
position.Finally,a workerjumpsinto the
seat, turns on the engine,and with a
screamof tyres the carsprintsawayfrom
the line.At Rougethis processis repeated
day and night, fivedaysa week 60 cars
an hour, .140carsa shift, 880 carsa day,
13,000partsinto eachcar.
A New Type of Worker
The work of the modern car assemblv
worker leavesnothing to him. Automatic
machinesshow a transferof thought,skill
and intelligencefrom personto machine.
The paceof the line dictatesthe speedof
work on and t-rff the line. for everything
in a car plant eventuallyfinds it way onto
the assembly
line.
Car Productioq
Some operationsare almost fully
automatic, while others require
e o n s i d e r a b laem u u nt s o f l a b o u r .
Panelproduction: This involvesthe
stampingof body parts.The Press
Shoptypicallyhas l5-20 lines,each
producingsome20 partsperminute.
T h e s t a m p i n go p e r a l i o n i s n o w
Iargelyautomatic,employingabout
10%,
of the labourfbrce.
Body Assembly: Car bodies are
constructed
by weldingvariousbody
panels and stampingsinto subassembliesthat finally form a rigid
body- Sub-assemblies
are spot welded manually,final weldsare often
fully automatic. The process requiresabout 30% of the workforce.
Powertrain Production: The most
costly sectorof production,supplying engines,transmissionand axles.
Rough castings are heated, drop
forged'and machined;most of the
mochinery is very sophisticated.
This secttrraccounlsfor about25%
of the workforce.
ln any car plant the worklbrceis made
up of machine tenders, assemblers,
skilled workers,inspectorsand testers,
Painting: Here the welded bodies
helpersand janitors.In recentyearsthe
are cleaned,primed and painted.
proportionof tendersand assemblers
has
The workforce is small. less than
increased
considerably.
Physicalstrength,
IO%, but considerableskill is reskill and experienceare no longer scr
quiredin paintwork.
i r n p u r t a n tS. k i l l h a s b e e nl r a n s f e r i e td, ,
Trim and Final Assembly: Thoucomplex machinesand brute fbrce to
sandsof partsand componenlsare
giganticlifting and conveyinggear.(ln
installed onto the painted body.
modern plants there will be maybe 200
This is a long and complexprocess
different kinds of mechanicaldevice
involving separate sub-assemblies.
fbr carrying and conveyingmaterials.
)
Workers are located at stations.A
Along with the devekrpmentof autotrim line mighthave70-80stations,
matic and handlingmachineryhascorne
with specifiedpartsstockedat each
a levellingof wages_
At the sarnetirnethe
station. This sector is very labour
total number of workers neededin a
intensive.
accountingfor about25%
modernplant is reduced.For examplein
or more of the workforce
R i v e rR o u g ei n l g l g l h c r ew e r e1 0 1 , 8 0 0
workers.By 1970 thcre were less than
r5,000.
Automatic machinery has also altererl
Between 1957 and 1976, car and truck management
methods.By usingmachines
production by the big three US auto whoseoperations
andoutput areuniform,
makers rose from 6. Tmillion to 10.9- standardised
and automatic.the labour
million - an increaseof 62%. The work- effort has become rigidly defined ancl
force, however, rose by oniy 7-7'/o over measurable.
The workers'contributionis
the sameperiod.
dictated simplyby the speedof the line.
t4
This makes demands on nervous and
mental activities, such as watchfulness,
quick judgement, dexterity but perhaps
most important of all the nervous endurance to carry through dull, monotonous, fatiguing, rhythmic operations.
But automation in the car factory is not
complete.Despitetechnologicaladvances
and scientific management,the necessity
for human labour in productionhasnever
been and cannot be completelyremoved.
No more graphic illustration is needed
than a picture of a car plant during a
slrike. Automatic tools hang limply on
the end of air lines. Panels hans from
overhead conveyors. A completid car
slopes awkwardly half way down the
ramp. Without human labour the machinery, the m:rnagement,the product, the
profit is nothing.
Life with the Unes
Everyday management of production
dependson organisingthe min in such
a way that more and more can be extracted from them. The contribution of the
machine is fixed. Only the worker can
work harder. Organisedin different ways,
in combination with different machines.
his cont ributioncan be increased more
work from him meansmore Drofits for
Ford.
"Save ten stepsa day for each of 12,000
employees"saidHenry Ford of his system
of bringingstocksto employeesinstead
ol havingrheworkermovearoundfreelv.
" a n d y o u w i l l . h a v e s a v e d5 0 m i l e st , f
\eastedmotion andmisspentenergy."
The organisation
of labour and technology of a car plant are devotedto one
end
the productionof cars as profit,
a b l y a s p o s s i b l eA. n e s s e n t i ael l e m e n t
in this processis the progressive
elimination of any control r.lf rhe job by the
worker, in so far as is possible.and the
transferto a devicerihich is controlled
by management
frc,nrrrulsrdethe direct
process.The control does nor sroo at
the machine. Screnrrrl:nlanf,sement
a l s o s e e k sr , ' l n u u l i t h e n l a l l l u t h e
taskevenbeforehe !.ntersrhe car factory.
JamesR. Bright oi rhe Harr.ardBusineis
Schoolu,rote()i 'aJi it.rnt;aprogress'and
'automation'
i n t h e s el e i n s :
'I suggestthat excessiveeducdtional and
skill specification is a serious mistake, a
potential hazard to our economic and
social system. We will hurt individuals,
raise labour costs improperly, create
disillusion and resentment and destroy
valid job standards by setting standards
that are not truly needed for a given
p.21a)
task.'(Braverman,
It's a matter of chancewhich particular
job a new starterar Ford findshi is given.
If the company wants 20 operators,a
couple of janitors and a dozen foundry
workers, in that order, the job the new
man gets will most probably be decided
by his position in the queue thc morning
of the interview.As early as 1925 Henry
I admitted that many of the new recruits
only neededa daystraining.It's the same
'Conat Ford today. A morning in the
ference Room' (Dagenham)with a talk
from Personnel about the 'big Ford
family' and a conducted tour with the
training officer, then new recruits are
briefed by the Safety Officer. "The convenor was supposedto seeus. He didn't
turn up. So the training officer introduced us to the union sayingmuch the
same thing as he'd said before and that
Ford liked everyone to join the union,
because in Ford all the problems are
s o l v e db y t a l k i n ga n d p r o c e d u r e .("F o r d
worKer)
for an hour or two. The machinesare "Everyone hasa station.You're suppo:e:
filthy with a mixture of metal dust, oil to get your work completed within :
certain area, usually around ten ma) be
anddirt." (Ford worker)
fifteen feet. If you get behind, y'ou're
On the linesthe work isn't hard . . . It's bumping into the next worker." (Ford
the never-endingpace, the monotony, worker, Chicago)
the debilitatingtedium.
"The job gets so sickening,day in day
out, plugging in ignition wires. I get
throughwith one motor, turn aroundand
there'sanother staringme in the face.It's
sickening.The assemblyline is no place
to work I can tell you. There'snothing
more discouragingthan having a barrel
besideyou with ten thousandbolts in it
and using them all up. Then you get a
barrel with another ten thousandbolts
and you know every one of those bolts
has to be picked up and put in exactly
the sameplaceas the last ten thousand
b o l t s . "( W a l k ear n dC u e s)t
It is not simply the automation,the
conditionsthat
monotonyandunpleasant
determinethe daily routineof the worker
at Ford. The competitive drive of the
company and the slow decline in auto
manufacturing profit margins leads Ford
management to push for ever greater
productivity levels and even faster line
speeds.
'You will know that the new Cortina is
one of the best sellingcarsthat we have
ever built
In order to imorovethe
supply situation we have advisedyour
shop stervardsof our intention to run
the Cortinaline at 55 jobs per hour
insteadof the present45 jph.'
Phil Stallingsis a spot welderat the Ford
Assembly plant on the south side ot
Chicago.He's 27, and works on the third
shift, 3.30pm rnidnight.Hisjob consists Thisultimatumwasgivento Ford workers
in January1977.The same
o f t h e f i r s t w e l d so n t h e c a r b o d r . l h e at Dagenham
number of men would be confronted
weldinggunshangfrorn the roof.
with an extra ten jobs per hour, an in"l stand on one spot all night. The only crease of 22V,'.The line worker would
time a personstopsis whenthe lrnestops. be expected tcl do almost a quarter
W e d o a b o u t 3 l j u b : p c r ; r i . p e r u n i t . as much again.The'supervisors'briefto
48 unrtsan hour. 8 hoursa da1. -1111-.t employees
andgave
anticipatedquestions
48 times 8. Figure lt ()ur. That's how the answers.The final question 'What's
man)'times I push the butttrn.The noise in it for me?', was answered:'There is
is tremendous.
I ou open)'our mouth and no tangiblebenefit1o you or me, but we
you're hablero get a rnouthtll of sparks. .all have an interestin ensuringthat the
t o n ' t company is efficient and profitable for
T h a t ' sa b u r n .r h e s iet r r ' b u r n s . . . I d
stop. It just goesand goesandgoes.I bet that is what secures
jobs'.
there'smen uho haveliled and died out
there,neverse!'nthe end of that line . . .
After the morning sessionthey go straight
onto the line "You know the sort oi
thing. This is Fred, he'll show you what
'You
to do. 'Hello' saysFred.
stick this
in here and that in there I'm not paid
for this you know.' You either do it or
you don't. If you don't you're unsuitable
and you get your cards."(Ford worker, "l don't like the pressure,the intimidation. Ho* sould you like to go up to
New Society 12.6.75)
someoneand sa1 'l would like to go to
the bathroom?'Ii the foreman doesn't
Stench
like you he'll make you hold it. Just
The atmospherein the car plant is re- ignoreyou. (Turkelp.220ff)
marked on by all Ford workers you
meet. "Walk through the main doorway "You can work next to a guy for months
of the plant on any day of the weekand without evenknorvinghisname.One thing
the atmosphere
seen.ls
to knock you off you're too busy to talk the other you
your feet. Fumes from the Heat Treat. can't hear.You haveto holler.They got
Fumes from the Foundry. The stench theselittle guys cornrngaroundin white
of burnt oil. The air seemsfuli of swarf. s h i r t sa n t i i f t h e l s e cy u u r u n n i n gy t r u r
Oil everywhere.Your clothesare black- mouth they say 'This guy needsmore
enedjusi by standingin the atnrospherew o rk ' .
Pressure
A month later workers al the engine
plantat Dagenham
weretold that management were going to speedup from 120
t o I . 1 3 e n g i n e :p e r h ,' i t r . o n c e n g i n c
every27 seconds.
Engineworkersfelr that they werebegintliemselves:
ning to operatelike machines
they were gettinglessarrdlessspaceto
work in. and lessfreedomof manoeuvre.
This was especiallytrue of workers on
freehand operationswho felt that thc
timingsestablished
by the Companywere
impossiblyrigid. The intensity of production meant that every day wc'rkers
l5
were being warnedor suspended
lbr not
working hard enough,or for not maintainingquality.lt alsomeanra high level
of absenteeism
and labour turnoverin
certainsections.
deviation is also timed. but e.linlnated
from the final timc - 'circled out'. In
the example wq have, the operator
talks to another ernployee, and this
i s c i r c l ed o u t .
on it, and he's standingthere watching
me work. EverythingI do he puts down.
They time me for a day . . . He saidnow
look. don't walk aroundthis way from
left to right, why don't you try walking
from right to left. I had nuts and bolts
over on the table and I was supposedto
w a l k o v e rt o i r . p i c k r h e mu p j n d w a l k
back. And he saysdon't do that. So he
bought me a lirtle pouch to put around
me. Now I'm supposedto put the bolts
in the pouch.All I've got to do is reachin
the pouch prck out the bolts and screw
them on." (Wilbur Haddock, black
worker in Ford Mahwah, New Jersey)
At Langleyworkersstill talk about the B u t t h c d e v i a t i o n sm a y b e l e s si n n o c u o u s .
Transit assemblyline. Demand was so T h e w o r k e r ' s n t o v e m e n t s m a y n o t b e
high that management
ran the linesas f)st t i g h t e n o u g j l . c e r t a i n a c t i o n s m a y b e
as they could get away with it. "We had s u p e r f l u o u s . T h e m a n u a l r e m i n d s t h e
to do 20 jobs an hour.We literallychased t r a l n e ei n d u s t r i a le n g i n e e r :' l f t h e o p e r a t o r
trucks down the line. one every three p e r s i s t si n u s i n g e x c e s s i v em o t i o n s d u r i n g
rninutes." Many couldn't stick it and t h e o b s e ^ r v a t i o n sr h. e s r u d y w i l l b e s r o p p e d
left. Turnoverwasa brg problem.Transit l o r [ h e I o r e m e nt ( ' r e i n s l r u c lt h e o p e r a t o r
assernblywas,eventuallytransferredto i n t h e p r e s c r i b e dm e l h o d . '( p q )
S o u t h a m p t o n".l t w a s a m a d l i n e a n d
we were glad to see the back of it." The RatingFactor
(Langley steward
Tension
) Southampton was
expanded to take it and an all green The impressiongiven throughout the Throughthe da) rensionincreases
on the
training programme is that every stage
labour tirrcerecruitedto assemble
it. For is scientifically
line. There is an alntosraudiblesish of
d'etermined.
But
an
managementat Ford this was the most
operator'sspeedcan vary and be varied._r e l i e fa s a g a p a p p e a r .: , n r h e l i n e .T h e
effetiveway of overcoming
the resistance 'The
most detaileddescriDtionand ob- restlastsas long as a.;ob*ould normally
ol an experiencedworkfbrce to such
On these
servations
are of little value'the manual take,thirty,maybefifrl seconds.
speedup.
occasionswhen the st;adr. movement
adds,'if the performance
of the operator
u i t h e l i n e s l o w sd o u n . r h j h u p e i s f e l r
i s n o t p r o p e r l ye v a l u a r e d( p
' 9).Ar rhis
Work Study
bl somethat thc
p o i n r t h e I n d u s r r r a lE n e i n e e rh : j s t o by many and expressed
'You get
the feelThe day to day methodsol speedup are alter all the timingsif, for example.he line might be stopping.
less crude but equallyeff-ective.
t l r i n k sr h c o p e r a t o ri s n o r w o r k i n gf a s r ing, everybodygersthe teeiingand everyKnown
' 'industrial'
is wishing
* heneve
r rhe line
a 5 ' l r u l n a nU
r
e n g i n e e r i n igt . e n o u g l ) .T h i s i s k n o w n r s r l r e ' i a r i n s body 'breakdown
babl'." A11carworkers
involvesthe managementand organisa- f a r t ( ) t 'J n d i s e n r i r e l ya t t l r c t i i s e r e t i . r i jerks:
say that when the line doessrop a great
tion of the individualworker.It invariably oi menagement
althoughit appearsto be
c h e e r g o e s u p , e c h o i n gd . r * n i i r c ' l i n e ;
e n t a i l s p e e tul p o r r e d u c t i r )inn m a n n i n g arrivedat'soientifi
cally'.
just for a nlomentor maybe
the pressure,
levels.
'Each
operating area is responsible for half an hour.is off.
Ford has its own method of 'human carrying out periodic rating sessionsin
engineering'which has changedlittle order to ensurethat Industrial Ensineen One worker told of a line on which he
since the early days of Henry Ford I. are able to rale operator perfoinance was working, which not onll stopped,
but then began to go backwards.The
Its aim is simple.To tie the individual competently.'
(pl I )
utter absurdity,and an auareness
of the
operator as tightly and efficiently as
consequencesif it continued caused
possibleinto the paceand ntotionof the
Squeeze
hysterical amusementamong the men.
machine.
The times that areestablished
in this wav "The facesof all the men aroundme were
'Work measurement
is the application are then enforced. In the inhuman lan- wreathed in smiles.The line which had
of techniquesdesignedto establishthe guageof the manual,this is the'all dav everyonein its griphad not only'forgotten
job' (Ford p a c e '(.p | 7 )
TIME to carry out a specified
to be itself but wasevencontradictins
its
Work StandardsTraining Course p4).
(Chinoy.
logic."
own
p.6+
)
'Time
Study' is the most widely used For managementmoney is success,and
of all work measurement
and 'involves the difference between success and The light moments are tew and far
direct observationof work whilst it is failure often lies in the extra car or two between. Ford workers recount them
beingperformed,timingit with a suitable that they can squeezeout of the men. with relish. The butron boxes which
stop watch, and the application of a Every minute of the day throughout the hang down from the roof which the
Ford empire managementis trying to workers can use to stop the line in an
ratingtechnique'(p5).
reduce manning levels and speed up emergencyare buckled and chipped.
One job is broken down into n ine ele- operatrons.
Pressingthe button tells management
ments, each element divided up by
which worker or slarionwas responsible
break points. Each of these elements "This guy comesout and he'sgot a little for the stoppage.
Someoneat Dagenham
is timed and retimed. Any 'human' clip board and he's got four stop watches discovered thar swinging them hard
l6
against the wall had the same,effect havehad heart attacks.The reality is even
without the button being depressbdand worse. These figures do not include the
giving away who stoppedthe line. For a resultsof accidentsltwork on theselines.
moment, not more, the men on the line Added to which are the 63,000workers
can stand back bemusedas men in white with disablingdiseases,the 1,700,000
coatsrush aroundgettingthe line started. with lost or impaired hearing. The car
industry reaps as hearrya toll upon the
saboWhat proportion of the stoppages,
American working classas did the Viettase and insubordination at Ford are
nam war. (New Society 12.6.75)
to
deiperate moves by desperatemen
overcomethe sheer monotony or stress Death
of it all, can never be assessed.
But ln May 1972,a worker at a Ford engine
repetitive assemblywork alone placesa plant in Ohio fell to his death through
healy burdenon thosewho do it. Research the Foundry roof. He was the fourth
carried out in 1973 by Ford's Medical workerkilledat that plant duringthe first
Officer. Dr Allardice, in the company's half of 1972.The US Occupation,
Safety
plants, provided substantial evidence and HealthAdministrationruled that the
that this kind of work exposesworkersto companywas at fault in three of the four
exceptionally high levels of stress.The deaths.Ford wasfined $200 for the fourth
report was never published. Ford sup- worker's d,earh. (llall Street Jounnl
pressed
it.
| . 1 1. ' 7
2)
Turnoverof labour in a car factory is also
extremelyhigh.
On a normal day at Ford in Britain,more
than 3,000 workers will be off sick.
Another 3,000 will just not bother tc,
turn uD. So constant is sickness and
absenteiismthat Ford have two ways of
counting its workforce. Those on the
pay roll and those actually there. There
is a permanent 'reservepool' on Ford's
payroll partly to compensate for the
heavytoll taken by the work of making
cars.
Pressure
and strainarestructuredinto the
very heart of the assemblyplant.
The Cost
The inexorable pace of the line takes a
heavy toll in the lives and health of the
workforce. Ford production methods
are among the most ruthlessin the world.
Continuousshifts, constantspeedup and
increasing work loads reduce the shop
floor to a kind of battlegroundbetween
profit and the capacitiesand needsof the
of the orofitworkforce.Ford evaluations
a b i l i t yo f i t s p r o d u ci to n i n n o w a y t a k e
into accountthe humanand socialcosts
consequences.
that areits inevitable
Every day in the US 65 carworkersdrop
dead at their jobs on the factory lloor.
On averagesome 16,000of them die in
the plantseveryyear,oi whom overhaif
{*.#.t:.g,.:c,cr,*u
,
'At approximately4.l5am on the nrsht
shift on the night ofSeptemberI I to ll.
1964, Tommy Tumer collapsedon the
line which assembles
Cortinas.One oi hrs
mates noticed this, quickty stoppedthe
line and attemptedto help the sick man.
He was sent back to hisjob by the supervisor who then draggedTommy to the
side of the line, placedanotheroperator
on the fallenman'staskand restartedthe
line. Only then was a message
sentto the
Medical Departmentwho later arrived
with a stretcher.Owingto palletsstacked
high at eachsideof the line it wasfound
imoossibleto reachhim. so a'stac-a-truc'
was sent fcrr. It was some l3 minutes
before the sick man reachedthe Medical
Department.by which time he rvasdead.
'Many weekslaterthe PTA shopstewards
committeewasinformedby maiagement
Ford
llorkers'
Group
Dagenhanl
that "Turnerwould havediedin anv case.
h e I r a da m e d i c acl o n d i t i o n " . ' l S o l i j a i t v l
I l t h i s w a sr r u e .w h y w a sr h i sm a nw o i k ing at one of the most strenuousjobs in
t h e p l a nt ?
'Ford
Motor Co saidan explosionyesterday at its MichiganCastingCentrenear
Detroitinjuredl2 wolkers,noneseriously,
and forced the company to send home
allcasting
p roductionworkersfor the day.
Parnts and solvents pervade the engine
plant and paint,trim and assembly
plant.
The workers there claim vou set used
to il, but the fumesare a sirious-hazard.
The fumes from paint sprayingpenetrate
beyond the booths. Workers inside the
The United Auto Workersunion called
booths often wear nothinq more than
Uves in Danger
the explosion"the latest in a seriesof
cloth face masks.totally iiadequateto
'On
Thursdaynight shift, January27th, shockingexamplesof how little attention stop the dangerous
inhalation of fumes.
1977, there was a fire in the Hot Test in Ford has paid to protectingthe well- Very little
is known about the conthe EnginePlant. Someonesaw a glow beingof the workers."
stituent elements,of paints and solvents.
u n d e rr h e H o r T e s t ,a n d r r i e d t u r a i s ea
During the recentcontractnegotiations, Those that are measuredare measured
warning.The fire alarm was pulled,but
the UAW chargedthat 75 workers have separately.Nothing is done to measure
t h i s i s c o n n e c l e tdo t h c S e c u r l t vD e o a r r been bumed this year at the new $200 the effectsof all the chemicalscombined.
ment, and only ringswhen they tum it
million facility due to flames leaping
on 2 minuteslaterl Meantimetherewas
from fumaces.' (lMall Street Joumal With many of thesechemicals,treatment
a great roar, and the metal ventilator
is limited to dispersingthe fumesinto the
3 0 .1 0 . 7 3 )
shaft fronr the HT turned red-hot. then
general environment. One of the dewhite-hot.Everyoneran like hell. But the
greasers
usedat Ford (Tetrachloroethane)
white-hot shaft wasright next to the exit,
illustrates the problem. The Governso they had to run pastit to get ou1.It Ibalth and Safety
ment's technicaldata notes that smokins
was also right next to the fuel tanks for 'The
should not be allowedin the vicinitv oi
Body
Plant
(Dagenham),
with
a
the Hot Testl Luckily nobody was hurt
the chemicaldue ro the dangeroi its
this time. But Ford,true to form, wanted workforce of 7,000 staff and hourly paid. reacting with the
lighted cigarette and
has
80
to
140
eye
injuries
reported
to restarthalf the Hot Test at once!(as
producing
phosgene
deadly
gas. Ford's
(Ford
to
Medical
each
month.'
News
well asblanringworkersfor the aecident).
own medicaldepartmentwerenot consul12.1
1
.7
6)
The HT workers refused,until the place
ted about its introduction. It was only
had been given a thoroughcheck-out. . .'
about a conside
rable
The main health problemsin Ford's car workers'complaints
plantsare apparentevento the outsider. and unpleasant smell that alerted the
Another Fire
Noise is by far the most obvious. So SafetyDepartmentto the danger.
'The
jobs involvemetalto metalcontact. Coke
many
Hor Test in rhe EnginePlanr conoven emissionsare very dangerous
'occupational
hazard'. for the 300 or so who work nearbv.
tinueslo be a scandal,sincethe last fire Deafness is an
we reported.Shortly after the fire on Ear muffs are provided,and the Company Apart from the heary smoke, theie
January21th, Ihe SafetyAlarm started ducks any further responsibilityfor its are the by-products ammonia, tar and
going off. Each time the workersstopped effects. Many workers tell of not being benzene.Anyone working herehasa four
wt-rrk. . but each rimeNfivetimes.t1'they able to speakor even shout abovethe to five times greaterchanceof contractwere talked into retulningto work. On constantracket. The Pressshop seemsto ing cancerthan a heavysmoker.
are
the final occasion,somihow, miracu. be the worst.Whenthe ( Bliss)presses
lously,the Alarm didn't go offall through at work at Dagenham,the noiseis like Ford have no noiie reduction engineer.
the followingnight shift. The reasonfor standingup closeto a lot of churchbells For the 00.000workforcein the UK thev
test have6 medicalpeopleand one industriil
this wasbecause
a foremanhad switched in full peal.A Company-conducted
(1975). They
of noise levels registered112 decibels. hygienistand an assistant
the alarmoff completely.
seem to be unable and unwilline to
'The
followingshift, theHot Testworkers Another dangeris immediatelyvisibleestimatethe cost to the workforc-ein
r e f u s e dt o s t a r rw o r k t i l l a p r o p e rr e p a i r oil. Oil mist is said to be much better health and lives of producingcarsin the
had been done. They threatenedto call than it usedto be. Therewasa time when present environment. Ford's reluctance
in the Factory Inspectorand the repair you couldn't see 25 yards acrossthe to take steps to impro.vethe safety of
machineshopat Dagenham.
But the fitters their cars, or to remedy specific faults
wasdone.
and toolsetters
are still in someconsider- even in the face of pressurefrom con'But
following this there has been an able danger.It is still saidthat 'you could
explosionon the new Hot Test on the sink an oil well at Ford'. In fact thereis sumer groups and governments,is a
Fiestaline. A workerwashurt andhad to somuch wastethat Ford finds it Drofitable depressingomen for Ford's workforce.
To date no-one has anv idea of the
be taken away by ambulance.
And now, t o c o l l e c ri r a n d r e c y c l ei r . T h e d a n g e r toll
in workers lives losi and impaired
just last week,therehasbeenyet another trom oil is that it produces
cancer,par- th rr.rugh
producingcarsin Ford faitories
fire in the Hot Test.' (Ford Workers' ticularly cancer of the skin. Ironically,
aroundthe world.
Croup Dagenham1977)
usedoils areevenmoredanserous.
l8
Shiftwork
'The scheduling of hours of
work is
undoubtedly one of the major social
problems of industrial society. As technology advances,the natural rhythm of
human life and the pace of industrial
production move progressivelyfurther
apart and becomeincreasinglyout of step
with one another.'(Maurice)
All car manufacturersmake their workers
work shifts around the clock, to keep the
machinery moving and maximise its
Ford
workers at Sv)dnsea occupy
factory
the[r
profitability. But the human and social them when they get all ratty. but ir':
costs of working. shifts are enornous. tough on the kids." (ls therea lite afie:
Fords. .8rg Flame Dagenham Bullerin t
"lf John is working on nights, he'll just
want to get up on Saturday afternoon "You walk into the plant and the t-lrsr
and turn the box on. Ford hasmuckedup thing that hits you after the racialcompo.
our whole weekend.There is just about sition of the workers are the displaysof
time to do some of the shopping.I get Playboy type nudes in every available
all irritable becauseI haven'tseenhim all space. Like being wrapped tp in The
week. Things get really tense when he's ,San. The naked woman becomes the
on nights.You'vegot to get usedto living symbol,howeverdistortedand distorting
on your own. It gets really hard on the of 'real' life outside the factory. And any
kids. You haveto tell them to shutup all woman who happensto passthrough is
the time becauseDad is trying to get seen in this 'extremist' way. What a life.
some sleep.You get tenseall the time, K. got married at twenty during the
becauseyou think they aregoingto wake holidays, came back a couple of days
him up. Scme blokes find it really tough late. Looking rosy. But two nights later
to sleepduringthe day. You can'tblame he was thinking of leaving.Used to get
home after his life had left for work.
getting up in the usual stupor as she
camehomc:saweachotherfor two hours
and then he was off to work. Another
guy who used to go on about fucking,
how big somewoman'sbreastswere,was
in fact so wiped out he hardlyevermade
love with his wife. Pretty common. As
common as the other. That after a nisht
t r r d a y , ' f r e n s i o nb e i n gb u i l t i n t o y o u b y
the line all you want to do is get out of
thereand fuck, and come as soon asyou
e r n . W i t h a s s e m b llyi n e sr u n n i n gi n y o u r
head,it's no fun." (lnterviewBig Flame,
Dagenham)
;'.Gl
:ii'
]l I
-1
Workplace $ruggles
I
1.'
'l*'
ig
rt
On thc approachroad to Ford's River
Rouge plant in Detroit, a worker has
written: 'WE COME HERE FOR EIGHT
HOURS A DAY. DO WE HAVE TO
WORK AS Wt,LLI'
The shop floor of a car assembll plant
is a battleground.To the visitorrnaybe.
t l t c i m p r e s s i oi sn o t ' a u l o l r l a t cLdr r d e rB. u t
on the shop floor. lrrrongthe rnachines.
t h e b a t t l ei s c o n s t a n ta. s c o n s t a nat s t h e
line itsclf and the drir,eb1' managentent
to prorluceprofits. To thc rnen on and
off' the line the cornplerityof car production has no immediaterelevance.
There
are two preoccupations,
the need for
nroney and the desire to survive. The
Beatleshit of the sixties'Money don't
get ) ou everythingit's true . . . but what
it don't buy I can't use',waswritten by
a Ford worker in Detroit, whiling away
t9
thc hours at work. Just as rmportanrrs
t h e b a t t l c t o 5 x * | u " i n s i d et h e o h n r . r o
i m p o s cs o m ek i n t l o l c o n t r o lo n t l t c i o b
e n dt h e r u t h u r i t y( r f I n i l n t g e m e n t .
.t
Ford workers can do little about monev
on the shop floor. The rate for the iob is
agreednationally between Ford and the
unions.There are no incentives.
no productivity deals negotiated inside the
plant, no piece work. Confrontation
on the shop floor invariably involves
questionsof control; control of speedof
work, of job content, and manning.
Figuresfor industrialdisputesar Ford
bearthisout.
IndustrialDisputesat Ford 1975
(Brirain)
Grievancc
Pay
Hours Vehicles
lost lost
(%) (%)
4.8
Work contcnt
6u..1
LabourFicxibility
u.o
Movementbclweengradcs
llernarcation
0..+
Workingenvironntent
t.4
Hoursof work
l.l
Overtinrc
I0
Discipline
1
0.4
'Iradc
[Jnionntat ters
l.l
9.9
6t"7
08
0.1
7.9
0.3
1.4
1).1
).6
0.1
t.3
'"'i3f.kn**.
T ravelling chapel built on Model T chassis
conlrontrng management,refusing to
work. If contactsare good on the line, At the point of the disputeforemen will
dcfensivcactionby one will be supported be taking names. Each man is asked
individuallyif he wilt start work. lf he
D)',Otncrs.
refuseshe will be told he is "off pay". or
Misccllancous
9.E
For managenrent
any stoppage,
no matter he may be told to go to the office of
how srnall.is a crisis.though there are the superintendent.
If solidarityis good,
T o t a l n u r n b c r ) I . 8 - + - 5 . 7 5 0-r7.i96 caseswherellanagementthemselves
pro- the men will nrore than likely stay put,
(l00lz)
( 1 0 0 % )voke a stoppageto get themselves
out of refusingto budgo,holding their positions
(FordMotorCompany)
a flx. Crucial work is not beingdone. For on the line. The shop steward will be
in assemblywork any stoppagecan cause called. More than likely he'll know
A wliole network ot organisations
and a bottleneck with repercussionsfar exactly what the disputeis about before
detence routines lras becn built. This beyond the point of stoppage. Jobs he is czrlled.Sometimeshe'll be at the
protectsthe worklbrcefrorn the cxccsscscomingdown the line passby and workers centreof it, the mouthpieceof the secof management,
while at the sarnetime it further down the line cannot carry on, or tion. Taking the men off pay is offensive.
providesa basefiom which the workers parts neededin anothersectionfail to be To the stewarda provocation.He argues.
The men must be put back on pay before
themselvesassert and claitn certain produced.
the disputeor grievance
canbe discussed.
benefits.
Workersstepback from the line or stand At this point the dispute can erupt or
That's the overview.On the shop floor up. Foremen threaten or cajole the dissipate.The steward will know the
thingsare different.More often than not workerscausingthe productionstoppage. feelings of the men in his section, the
run about. For the moment context in which the dispute is taking
production flows srnoothly. Suddenly, Supervisors
out of nowherea mad scramble
occursas a I l e a s rt h e i i n e m a y c o n t i n u er u n n i n g . place.Should they stick on it, or should
a rnanageror a foreman infringessome If the convenor can't effect a ouick they let it go? What about the question
written or unwritten rule. Men will just s o l u l i o nt h e n t h e l i n e i s s t o p p e dI .l a p i l e of pay? A meeting may be necessary.
down tools and go home if provoked.Or up tlireatenedit may alreadyhavebeen The numbers involved may be high,
remain in position refusing to budge, stoppedwhenthe disputearose.
and the wishesof the men mieht have
20
to be registered,or time may be needed
to spread the dispute to other sections.
Should it be here. or in the canteen?
The trip to the canteen means passing
other workerswho may still be working,
or with no idea what the stoppageis all
about.
The convenor will be called.If the dispute
is a general issue already - a union
issue - the stoppagemay be prolonged a
day or maybe more. The convenor's
support for the lads in dispute will be
tempered by how much support he
can get from the union executive on this
one, as well as by concern for those
working in the rest of the plant. For if
the dispute is not resolved, many more
than those at its centre will be laid off
without pay, and nobody will thank him
for that.
Car workers pay a heavy pnce tor rhe::
militancy. More often than not. takrnr
any action means 'going off payroli'.
There is no doubtthat in the long run the Although this is bitterly resentedb1' the
balance oi power lies in management's workforce, it will not stop them taking
favour. Few believethey can really take action. The immediate reasonfor a drson Ford Motor Company and win. But pute may seemtrivial to an outsider,but
the level of organisation among the carworkers within a car plant know
workers in vehicle assembly, and the quite clearly when a practiceby managedevices they have developed have given ment has to be stopped.It may not be a
the workers considerablestrength - the large issue,but the car workerscan onll'
strength of a guerrilla force. In the day to be pushed so far, and if they have a
day running of the plants, the balance grievancethey will take on the manageis about even.
ment overit.
will be a bit more careful about trying it
on anothertime.
The following list is taken from a Ford convenor'sreport to his union executive
on specificactsby managenrentthat have causedtrouble and walk outs.They
indiiate the complexity and extent of the daily struggleson the shop floor of
Ford car plants.
l.
The men cluster round the convenor
arguing, shouting. More than likely he
will try to get them back to work. Perhaps the condition will be that they get
paid for the periodofthe dispute.Management will not give way on that unless
they're desperatefor production. The
men and the stewardwant a meetingto
discussthe issue.The canteenis suggested.
The convenorstalls.kave it to him. The
issue is being discussedalready by the
union.
4.
Balance of Power
E.
Meanwhile the foremen will be at work
on the less militant suggestingthat they
go back to work. If he judges it right
jthe convenorwill have a quick vote - a
show of hands.If there'sa majority for
a return to work they go back and leave
it to liirn. Maybe there'll be a section
imeetinglater. The angry onesmay even
rrow down tools and go home angry
s h o u l s a i n r e d a l l h o s e r e m a i n i n go r
supcrvisory staff. No one takes any
notice.
with a doubling
The line startsup.perhaps
up of workforcein the sectionto get rid
of a backlog. Sometimes(if the men
permit)the tbremanwill help.As the line
startsthe men move back into position,
unasked,ahnoston a reflex.A rippleol
down
excitedshoutingand singingpasses
the line. Whateverit was. nranagement
2.
3.
'
5.
6.
l.
9.
10.
I I.
I l.
13.
14.
15.
16.
5 men in the Paint Shop sent home for not acceptingnew manningstan'
dard, they were refuseda Shop Steward.No one elsewould do the job,
2 plantslaid off.
The samething happenedon 2 following shifts.
his members
on wet deckfor 4 daysfor advising
Shop Stewardssuspended
decisionto ceasepracticeofjob rotation.
againstSupervisors
30 colleagues
went
for goingto toilet without permission.
Man suspended
off in sympathy.
for not contplyingwith instructionto take
Stewardand l0 men suspended
afterclockingon.
clockcardto Supervisor
ded for taking20 niinutesoverpermitted
Material HandlingStewardsuspen
time to collectfor widou. His memberswent out. AssemblyPlantlaid off.
Quality Control Stewardsent home with someof his memberstbr not
acceptingadditional work. Same thing happenedon following shift.
300 men rn PressShop sent home for protestingabout foremensetting
irnesduringstrike.
Bodl in \!hite Line sent home for not acceptingnew work allocation
200 men supportedthem. Plant
*hrch thel'claimed was inrpracticable.
$ .r: lrtd , rfl'.
-10Tool Tr1'outmen senthomefor coming9 minuteslatebackfrom lunch
aiter havinga rneeting.Foremenattendedto PressLines.which clused;tr PressOperatorssenthome for refusingto work on linessetb1 t'oremen.
The restot'the PressShopwent off in sympathy.
on the followingshifts.
Similarhappened
one for one day. onc for tuo dars lirr
i PressShop Stewardssuspended.
above.The resultof tltis wasthat all Opr'rators.
callingrleetingsregarding
Tr1out and Torrlroonrwent off for the two shiftsthe Ste*ard\\'assuspended tbr and the Body and AssemblyPlantswerelaid oif.
for refusingto drivetruck loadedbl Forerttan.
MateriaiHandlersuspendcd
Restof MaterialHandlingwent honrein sympathl.
who * asreadingthe 'riot act'
at Forenran.
tbr swearing
Stewardsuspended
to his section.
Sewingmachinefltters told to acceptadditionalfunctionsor go home.
it wasnot in his opinion.their function.
DistrictOfficialtold managenrent
'off payroll'.
Men weretaken
2l
ln April 1977 Hen
tie man who f
announcedan
had decidedto
tive position wi
ther in te
Benson an
Ford multi1,490,169
. This gives
a year each,
usesas Ford
ilies have to
hold over a
gives them
lee Iacocca,
and Philip Cal
chief of inte
the new post o
HenryFord II
a recent hist
settingup the
leadershiptcr
ment until an
the seat at the
probablecandid
28, who is curr
c
"He
f:"
i! 1 y".'
er assoctale-
ves the skin
that had been
aro
the Philcohot
'The
Ford brothers
family was sitting around a dinner
$2Omillionin table in Moscow in 1970 when the
year after Americanexecutivedecidedto break the
news to the children. Hours before they,
left Detroit for a Russianvacation. his
at the Ford Motor Companvoffered
new assignment: running the
diary.HenryFord II had himco "a can of worms"- And
, Ford is known for its
philosophy
its
their shields,or upon
dren knew about
year-olddaughter
oesn'twork out,
u un the scrap
But in caseanyone
sion that the old firm
c a s eo f d e m o c r a c y , F o
that he still retainsthc ri
"l atn t
ultimatedecisions.
equals" said the marr with h
the building."lf sornething
ha
t h e r e ' sn o w a y t o w o r k i t u u t t r n a
sensusbasis,then l've got. uh, an extra
vote."(Time,25.5.77)
The shuffle at the top seenrs to give
Caldwell the edge on lacocca as a canditlate f,rr lhe prirne joh in ln interrcgnum
which rnust be humiliating for
someone like Ia
13.3.17)
't
sucha harde men at the
n E. Knudson
pany only 18
way from GM
Ford stock.
not less than
e presidencyof
handshakewas
he still had that
ord shares.Multicould say of his
the least important
ambitionis
his desk bearing
Still, his annual
$970,000,is equ
many other top F
years he is no
Henry Ford
j c t - s e t t e r 'i,s f a b u
glamoroussecond
Ford fLequcn
ts the
the junglesof Afri
lo work, together
white striped
(Dan 's Novernber
Class B shares,
shares,his annual
For
stock exceed $2.
in his
$970,000a year
, and
you seeone man earningalmost$4million
a year just from Ford - let alone his
other investmentincome. His family are
provided for independentlytoo. ihey
to
sy
any is PhiJ
ded for the
Automotive
rdship - the
division of
'lnside
Ford
a prolesslona
n wno ls ven
ranipulatethe
go
we
to hold th
down.' (Life
The third
ord's 48 top executives
over $l0million in salaries
ses.While tensof thousands
of
s have known the poverty of unoyment as Ford decidesit doesnot
needthem any more, at the otherendof
the spectrum the company's history is
peppered with those it has made rich
t r i m o t o r ' t h a t beyondcomprehension.
FordtsGommonMarket
The creation of the Common Market reflected the needsof private capital - just how much is evident
from looking at the benefits Ford reapsfrom operating internationally in Europe.
While Ford has operatedin many coun- new llalervood plant rvhich had started largest producer of commercialvehicles.
tries acrossthe globe for decadesnow, p r o d u c t i o ni n 1 9 6 3 .I n 1 9 6 7 .F o r d U K ' s The lessonwas clear. From havingno CV
the methods by which it does so have workforceof 60.000 produced591,000 production capacity at all, Ford-Werke
changed dramatically. Initially it was cars. trucks and tractors. ln all, that were able to become Germany's third
largelya matter of producingor assembl- meant some 9-10 vehiclesper employee largest CV producer after Mercedesand
ing one model, the model T, in many dif- per year, many of them the highervalue Volkswagen.What could havebeena very
ferent plants for an even larger number trucksandl ractors.
expensive process had been achieved
assembly
of markets.Then,gradually,local
By comparisonFord-Werkeof Germany almostpainlesslyby exploitingthe resourbecamelocal manufactureand different was small and its product rangenarrow.
cesalreadyavailableat Ford of Britain.
modelsweredevelopedfor largelyseparate Its main capacity at that point was at
markets: American Fords for the US, Cologne in Germany and Genk in BelCanada and Latin America, British gium. The Genk plant was the newer, Problem Fears
Fordsfor the UK andthe Empire,German havingbeen built in 1963,just after the Ford of Eurooewas createdin 1967 n
order to integiate Ford's Europeanwide
Fords for Germanyand so on. Partly this Halewood plant, on a greenfieldsite. It
emergedfrom the inter-warprotectionist was run as an integral part of the Ford- operations.The managementwould have
era. As early as I 91 2 Ford Times had werke operation. Including Genk, Ford- usbelievethat it wasan innovativestrategy
thought out purely to strengthen the
noted that in Germany'the use of home Werke's
33,000 workers produced in company'spositicinin Europe. In fact it
products is regardedas a duty almost
1967 378,000 vehiclesof which the few is quite clearthat it wasdevisedessentially
amountingto religion'(Hu, p25).
commercial vehicles' were small ones. as a rescueoperationto solveFord-Werke's
Also, the different models reflected That meant just over I I vehicles problems.1967 was a disastrousyear for
"
local lifestyles and standardsof living. per employeeper year.
tl.reGermany subsidiary,with total proIn the US, large cars dominated and
duction of only 378,000vehicles.Factory
production
Ford
UK
of
made
These
levels
people could afford them. In Europe
saleswere even worse, at 330,000 cars
smaller roads. distances and incomes and Ford-Werketogetherthe third largest and trucks - down 25% ftom 1966.Of
world
outside
car
manufacturer
in
the
generally ruled them out. And since
the production, only 173,000 vehicles
Eurooe and America constituted the the US. Only Volkswagenand Fiat pro- were produced in the German plants,
more,
and
even
the
Japanese
duced
develbpedworld at that point, it was
where output was down by 32% on the
these two areasthat dictated the desien companies were smaller. But the two previousy'ear.Worsewas to come, for
not
each
had
companies
were
integrated;
and developmentof the car.
its own rangeof althoughproduction wasincreasedby 1%
its own management,
Now, however, the industry is turning cars.its own comDonents.
its own outside in 1968, actua[ factory sales were a
full circle, with European, American, suppliers
anditsoivn productioniacilities. further 77odown.
Japanese,
Brazilianand Australiancarsall And the two companieseven competed Ford-Werkewas being canedby the comcoming closer together in terms of with one anotherin somemarkets.
petition, particularly Opel, Fiat and
designand size.And this hasrepercussions
Renault.
in terms of production. While methods Transit Success
Ford-Werke
did not have a good or comhaveremainedrelativelyuniform through*as one exceptionto this, the plete model range, nor was it a large
out, based on llenry Ford's original There
principles of mass assembly,the oppor- Transitlisht van. and in manl wavs this volume producer,especiallywithout the
*as the ire;urs.r, uf *hat hai happened Genk plant. But it was basedin Europe's
tunity has arisen over the last decadefor
Previousll Ford-Werkehad not fastest growing market, and the Eurosince.
new methods of organisationof producproducedcommercial
vehicles.
TheTransit pean market as a whole wasgrowingvery
tion, on a much wider scalethan at any
and rapidly. Those manufacturerswho could
was
developed
bi
the
UK
subsidiary,
period since the fint two decadesof the
producedbl both IJK andGermany, keep in the running could expect rapid
then
century. Ford have grasped this opporfor sale right acrossEurope. Instead of growth: in 1969,WestEuropean(EEC +
tunity, to internationaliseboth products
them competingwith one another for EFTA) car production was to exceedUS
and production, and nowhere is this
markets with rhe Transit, the markets productionfor the first time.
clearerthan in their Europeanoperations.
were allocated between them according 'A
new management organisation (Ford
to the respectivestrength of the sales
Europe)
was created to make all the
of
organisations
in thosemarkets.
Before the Merger
critical decisionsfor both the British and
and still German companies.There were obvious
Just a decadeago, before the formation The Transit was a great success,
of Ford of Europe,Ford had only two is. Not only has it becomemarket leader operating economiesin the arrangement
production, as opposedto assemblyunits in Europebut, just asimportantto Ford, - the duplicate dealer organisationsin
in Europe.The first, and clearlythe most it opened up for the company new third markets could be eliminated ..
important, was Ford LIK, centredaround marketssuchas Italy. Largelyon the basis Body developmentwork wasconcentrated
the major complex at Dagenhamand the of this one van, Ford becameEurope's in Germany, power train development
LJ
concentrated
in Britain."The poolingof having problemsgetting its surns right lntercompany transactions. When the
the two contpanics,"says Ford-Werke'sbe_tween1969 and 1975. Turnover Escort was put into Genk, for instance,
(then) rnanagingdirector tlans-Adolph rose steadily durlng that period, aparl what charge was levied by Ford tIK
Bartclmeh,"cut the engincering
bill in fiom the slumpycar of 1971.Yet it was againstForci-Werkefor the researchand
Italf for each company.providedccono- not until 1973 that profits exceeded developmcntcharges,
let alonethe toolmies of scale,with doublethe volumcin tltosc of l9(r9, and then by only DM43- rng? Accordingto the Ford tIK Report
terms of purchase commonizationot' n r i l h o n .
and Accounts.all researchand developpurchase,
comrnoncomponents p rovim e n r c o s t se r e w r i i l e n o f f a s i n c u r r e d ;
ded the financial resourcesfor a good
to which subsidiarywas the R&D for the
Cooked
Books
productprogrammeat a reallygoodprice
Fiesta,to be producedby Ford ofspain,
that we could still make money on."' One explanation for these accounts ts charged as il was incurred? Why does
that since 1967 the company has run
( F o r b e sI, . 7 . 7 2 )
especially hcavy depreciation charges, Ford-Werkeborrow funds from the Ford
For instance,while Ford UK was well tlius reducing profitability and holding International Capital Corporation of
advanced with preparationsto launch total assets
down.Overthetenvearperiod Hamilton,Bermuda?And how is it that,
year when Ford-Werkeneeds to
'
t
l
e
p
r
e
c
i
a
rion
the new Escort,Ford of Germanyhad
a n d l o o l a m o r t i z a t i o nh'a s in a
no small car with which to compete in exceeded'additions to fixed assetsand boost profits so tllat a 100%dividendcan
be paid, a major part of that profit boost
its rnarkets.Ford of Europe urgedthem specialtools'by DM306.2million:
at that
arisesfrom a combination of 'exchanse
to take the Escort."'We kept sayingto rate,by the year 2007, Ford-Werke
will
in paymenttransaithem," one Ford of Europe exccutive have modern, up to'date plants capable rale gainsachieved
'revenues
for serviceschareed
recalls,"Are you sure there'sno market of produci4g 6 million or more cars and tions' and
for it? lt's goingto be cheap.You don't CVs a year . . . and the valueof the assets to affiliated companies'(Report ind
have to pay for the tooling, it's already producing them will be written into the Accounts 1976)? When Ford wanted
the -German subsidiaryto produce high
been tooled."' (rbrd) Not surprisingly, accountsasa few DMs . . .
'*,as there to stop them
Ford-Werkeput the Escort into produc- It makes senseonly in the context of profits, what
adjusting
price
the
chargedfoi Capris
tion at Genkin I 968.
Ford's aim of rapid expansionin Europe,
or Granadassold to Ford UK accordingly?
It was followed irr quick succession
by and paricularly around the Ford-Werke
the Capri in 1969,then a new Cortina/ operation.What was the point of declar- This becomesapparent when you look
Taunus range (which lcant heavily on ing profits which would be taxed, when closelyat the recordof Ford of Britain.
gainedby Ford UK with the heavy capital expenditure could be The Annual Report and Accountsreveals
experience
extremelysuccessful
Mk I andII Cortinas) written off by heavy, untaxed depre- only vehiclesales,ratherthan production.
in 1970.and the Granadaransein 19J2. ciation; Ford could write up the accounts Over the ten year period 1967-76,sales
ln just four yearsFord-Werki'sposition whicheverway suited them best. Small peakedat 712,000as far back as 1968.
had been transformed.It now had a full wonder then that, after the German And in that year. productionwas even
and competitivemodel range.In addition, government had announced that from higher at 722p00 vehicles.Comparethis
year of record profits
it had added another maior manufactur- 1977 profits remitted overseas
' w e r e for
would be to 1976, a
only
ing plant, at Saarlouisniar the French taxed at a higher rate, the Ford-Werke t h e B r i l i s h c o m p a n y .S a l e s
border,in 1970.In that year,it overtook profits for 1976 revealed the massive 644,000,and productionjust 600,000vehicles.less
than in I 968.
the UK subsidiary as Ford's leading increase.Conveniently, they were just 122,00O
Europeanproducerof can and CVs, and large enough to allow a full t00% divi- This 'decline' is even more marked in
has continued to go from strength to dend for the parentcompany.
termsof tlie numberof vehicles
produced
strength.
by each worker. This also peaked in
The Price is Right
1 9 6 8 . a t I 1 . 8 v e h i c l e sp e r w o r k e r . I n
Yet looking at the accounts you can
On
Iy
the
Ford
Motor
Company
manage1976,
tt was just 8.8
each worker,
make no senseof it whatever.Over the
ment knows what pricesare chargedfor apparently.made threelesscarsthan his
last ten yearsFord-Werke
claimsto havc
increasedproduction by 215%: sales
Ford-Werke all thingsto all accountants
revenue35096:and profits by 2,305%
(admittedly fiom an unusuallylorv base
I967
1969
1975
1976
to a suspiciously
high peak).It has,quite
Production
(can
+
(l,00Cs)
CV)
3
7
8
6
1
4
6
3
5
813
clearly,expandedconsiderably.
Yet over
-)
4ql
(DMmillion)
3,884
6,366
8,6s7
those ten years, total assets(i.e. the Salesrevenue
)6
209
283
628
money investedin plant equipmcntand Profits(DMmiliion)
l ill
stocksetc) have risenby just 13%,from
Total Assets(DMmillion)
2,816
2,796
2,868*
DM2,53I million to DM2,868million.
It would seem that Ford-Werkewas
24
*ercludingdividends
k"
.&. k'::
a-^y
e., .
a
Poppetoto
vo*
UAll leaders pledge support to
Dagenham strikers. I 97 l
Bottom: Dagenham at a halt over layoff pay. 1977
Top:
@
before...
Ford of ljritain
fear
l'ehiclc
,lcles
1968 ?12,000
l'ehicles
Ptoduced
llorklorce
722,000 61,000
By the samecrudenteasure,
the productrvltv oi the * orkiurce of Ford-Werke
increasedrapidll over the sameperiod,
s o t h a t b \ 1 9 7 6 i t w a sn e a rd o u b l et h a t
of the British$ ()rkiorce.
Is this just anorhermanifestation
of the
'British
disease
. of low productivityand
u orktirce? At first sightit
Vehiclesl a recalcitrant
l|orker
would seem so. Yet doesanyonereally
1 1 . 8 3 believethat Ford would have accepted
9.18 such a decLne in productivity? The
8.29
'1.9s answerlies in the increasing
amount of
in Ford'sBritish
8.83 componentmanuf'acture
p lants.
r973 674,000 652.00071,000
1974 602,000 s80,00070,000
1975 534,000 s32,00067,000
1976 644,000 600.00068,000
Ford-Werke
1 9 6 83 9 5 , 7 9 0 +3 8 t . 1 9 43 7 , 0 9 8 1 0 . 2 8
1 9 7 68 l l , l 4 0 * 8 1 2 . 7 9 5
8 2 , 9 2 9 1 5 . 3 6 Scapegoats
*cxcluding inlported vehiclcs:
1968
The constant vilification of the carr976 10,498.
worker as one of the prime culprits of
Britain's economic O"ctinefrrst#ii'i
constant theme of both l^abour nnd
Conservativepoliticians over the past
d e c a da
e n db e y o n d . I nI 9 6 9 , f b r i n s t a n c e .
Harold Wilson,then PrirneMinister.was
busy warningstrikersof 'the dangerthat
in the Ford factoriesol- Europe. there
may be a growingdeterminationnot to
be dependentin the tuture on British
componentswhose delivery can be so
frivolously imperilled'. (Fittancial Times
16.3.69) The speechwas doubtlessinspired by Ford management.
They have
been as quick as any to exploit the
p o l i t i u acl l i m a t e .
It wasin l97l that HenryFordII launched
his famousattackon BritishFordworkers,
threatening no new investment. As
recently as July l9l1 BilI Hayden, a
25
Ford of Europe VP, returned to the
theme: 'Ford UK has ruled out all orospect of investment
in furthercarcapacity
in Britain until productivity at its two
plants at Dagenhamand Halewoodshow
signsof reachingContinentallevels. . . '
Accordingto him, Britain is'bottom of
the leaguein its ability to competeas a
secure and profitable supply source'
(Ford News\.
Tails You Lose
Then there are the constant. insidious
comparisonswith Ford plants in other
countries.Workersat Dagenhamare told
that it takes them 75% loneer to build
the Cortina than it takesthi workersar
Genk. Ford .Ay'ewstells the Halewood
workers that that plant has an abysmal
record in meeting production targetsin
comparison with the European plants.
And, of course, the German workers
are told of the great difficulty that the
appreciation of the Deutschmark is
causing,making the German plants less
competitive than those in Spain and
Britain.
The impressionput acrossis that Ford
is the victim of circumstances.forced
to act through worker militancy, appreciating currencies, political constraints
or whatever. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The company's strategies are directed at extracting more more work, more cars, more profits.
They are not a responseto probiems as
they arise.
Ford's decisionto switch maior investment to Cermany was takin in the
mid-60s.It wasmadedespitethe strength
of the British subsidiary, rather than
becauseof its problems.And that decision
was being put into effect well before
Harold Wilson and Henry Ford II issued
their sternwarnings.
The significancelies in the way in which
Ford of Europe was developed.At FordWerke assembly was expanded rapidly.
whilst increasinglyFord of Britain has
emergedas a component manufacturing
operation.
The reasonlies in the different nature of
these operations. Assembly is labour
intensive, heavily dependent on the
26
workerson the line. It is alsothe weakest
point in Ford's production chain, where
all the componentsare brought together.
When the line stops, all the money that
the company has poured into thosecomponents is fiozen, and the only way out
is to get the line goingagain.
productivity out of the combinedworkiorce of the two countries.
Ford can largely afford to ignore the
wage differentials between plants in
different countries. One reason is that
direct labour costs represent only a
comparatively small proportion of the
It obviously makes sense for Ford to total cost of a car, and with Ford's
concentrate assemblywhere it has the integrated European production the
most strength vis-a-visthe workforce. labour cost in any one car is spread
In Saarlouis,for example, there is high between different countries (see table).
unemployment. The company recruits
migrant workers for the worst jobs: Even in Germany, direct labour costs
they are dependenton Ford for permis- account for less than 15% of the net
sion to stay, and that dependson good price Ford receivesfor the car. And the
behaviour. What's more, wildcat strikes differential betweenSpain and Germany
justify sourcing the
are illegal.Small wonder that production is insufficient to
German
market
from
Spain. This would
targets are met day in and day out.
mean extra costs in the form of freieht
and insurancefrom Spain to Cermaiy,
The Squeeze
($106), and import duty into the ComComponent production, on the other mon Market ($96).
hand, is more capital intensive: the
emphasis shifts more to the machine. For Ford, cutting labour costs does not
Militancy is usually less in component involve chasingcheap labour round the
manufacturingplants,and Ford hasmore continent. It means,rather,ensuringthat
control of production in that stock the maximum is extractedfrom eachand
piling, dual sourcing or shifting tooling everyworker.The spreadof plantsenables
are possible. So the power imparted the companyto engagein an international
by anti-strike laws and the status of merry-go-round: winning or claiming
migrant workers is less important. Ex- productivity increasesat one plant, and
panding assemblyin Germany and com- then demanding that they be accepted
ponent operationsin Britain offered Ford elsewhere.The underlying threat behind
the chanceof squeezingthe maximum these demandsis that of withdrawal of
Fiesta costings- Ford intemal data Autumn 1977 for 1977
Car assembledand sold in
Bitain
Germany
Spain
Direct labour costsI i n : $ $
$
Britain
29
28
,,21s
Germany
JI
70
370
France
5l
5l
50
Spain
38
38
r82
Totals
Total direct costs2
Grossprofit per car3
Net salesrevenueper cara
374
488
297
I q7s
2,190
I,091
I I (1
3p66
;
1,8'79
821
2,700
Labour costs portion of variable costs.
Total corporation variable costs.
--l--
3 . C o r p o r a t i o ne c o n o m i c p r o f i t .
4 . C o r p o r a t i o ns a l e sr e v e n u e .
Variable costs are those that vary according to t h e n u m b e r o f u n i l s p r o d u c e d - r a w
materials. labour costs etc.
the work, but the threat is more rhetoric parent fully compensate the German Eminent politicians,particularlyChabanthan truth.
subsidiary?It seemsunlikely. In the same Delmas, soon to succeedPompidou as
way, despitethe BreatclaimsFord makes Prime Minister,wanted to make political
Ford's Law
for the successof the Germansubsidiarv. capitalout of attractingnew investment.
The playing off of one workforceagainst it is noticeablethat all major recent Not surprisingly the site chosen for
anotheris matchedin Ford's relationshio expansionhas been placedoutsidethat the next major new Ford factory was
with governmentsand consumers.In counrry.
Bordeaux. Chaban-Delmas'own conboth cases the identification of the Acceptanceof Europe as a singleunit in stitutency.As an addedincentive,Henry
national subsidiary company with each terms of both production and sales Ford II promisedGeorgesPompidouat
country is important. Ford exploits its meant much more to Ford, as a US based the sametime that Ford'snext European
acceptanceas a domestic manufacturer car manufacturer, than it did to the assemhly
plantu'ouldbe builr in France.
in many countries of Europe. It laps Europeanautomakers.Above all, Ford is
the Bordeaux plant's products
Ironically
up the benefits, from customer con- much freer to move within the confines
only servedto underlinethe increasingly
fidence to state support. Each national of the EEC than they are.
internatio
nal natureof Ford'sproduction.
subsidiary goes to the government in
just one majorcomponent,
It
would
build
turn, askingfor more public supportthan Border Clash
automatic transmissionsto fit smaller
has been offered elsewhere.The invest- The location
of the Saarlouisplant illus- engines(up to 3 litres). all for export.
ment ends up where it would have been trates this
clearly. The company had The plant was openedin 1973, and by
anyway, but the cost to the public purse
originally intendedthat this plant should Februarv 1977 had oroduced I million
is just that much greater.Yet, as we saw
be built in the Strasbourg
areac f Northern units.Oi these645.000went to the USA
with the recent Bridgend investment
France.While convenientlyclosero rhe for the Pinto and Mustang,249,000went
decision,Ford emergesat the end as the
Germanborder,it wouldhavethe political to the UK. Genk and Germany.and the
'model
citizen'. lauded by prime minisadvantageof establishinga Ford manu- restwent to SouthAfricaand Australia.
tersand presspunditsalike.
facturing presencein France. But the
Though the companyexploitsits national nationalistic rnood prevailingin France Fiesta
identification. it is dependent on and at the time meant that the deal was The increasinglyinternational
nature of
beholden to no state butside the US. effectively blocked. Ford simply found Ford's production is
best
shown
in the
'Ford's
a new site, just across the border in
The Spanishgovernmentpassed
caseof the Fiesta.The Fiestawas devel:w'
a specialstatute exempting the Germany and built the plant there. It loped
asanentirelynewadditionto Ford's
'who
company from many conditions of the drew heavily on French workers,
range of cars. As a result the company
laws regulating foreign ownership of ::rossedthe border every day to work,
started with an almost clean sheetwhen
investments,minimum local content paid taxes to the Genran government,
it camedown to both its designand the
of Payments.
etc., but even this wll not ensurethe creditedthe GermanBalarrce
rlecisions
on how rnd whereit shouldbe
company's allegiance.Ford's integrated and exported Escort cars to France'
produced.
internationaloperationsensuresthat the ( H u p . 1 7 2 ) .
company remains free to shift profits
The Fiesta had to be a front wheel
where it wishes. and to concentrate Ford's freedom to dodge from one drive mini-carto enableFord to peneinvestmentin those countries that best country to another is in stark contrastto t r a t e l h e i m p o n a n rm r r k e r so f S o u i h e r n
the pressureson domestic companiesto
suit its purpose.
Europe where such cars account for a
not only stay within nationalbordersbut
major part of the total market.Ford, at
to go to prescribedareaswithin them.
Dumping?
the time the project was first conceived
When Alfa-Romeo set up a huge new
The'Federal' Fiestasbuilt in Germanv. plant to produce the Alfa-Sud. for in 1969-71, had had no recentsmallcar
had only bad experiences
of
for example, are exported to Norih i n s t a n c ep. o l i t i e aal n d e c o n o r n ipcr e s s u r eexperience;
America. 85,000 were sent in 1977. could easily be applied to ensure the front wheel drive; did not havesufficient
sparecapacityin Europeto supportwhat
Ford's internal tigures show that on plant wasestablished
in lessindustrialised
salesof the Fiestain Germanythe com- Southern Italy . Similarly, in 1911, would necessarilyhave to bc a large
pany makes a gross profit of $1,150 Renault canre under heavy pressureto volume project; and had no capacity
per car. Their figuresfor thoseexported build a largenew plantin a lessdeveloped whatever for front wheel drive comooto North America show a grossprofit of part of France.No such pressurecould nents.
just $662 - meaningthat almostcertainly be appliedto Ford.
What was clear was that a huee total
the car is being sold at a loss in the US.
investmentwould be necessary.In the
The benefits to Ford US are market The French soon learnedto play things event it was over $l billion - almost
expansion,lower averagefuel consump- the Ford way, however. Ford was still beyond the capabilitiesof Ford of
tion and emission, and another oppor- eager to establisha manufacturingpres- Europe alone. That it was undertaken
lunity lo translerprofits. Does the'US ence in France,but on its own terms. partly in the midst of the severestreces-
27
i!
sion since World War II and without which the company hopes that future That meant consideringnot just the use
any huge traumassuch as Volkswagenproduction will be expanded.As such, and shapeof a component or assembly,
experiencedin the developmentof its new additions arB located to fit its but also the way in which it would be
new models, demonstratesthe impor- long term global perspective. Ford's produced .- including by whom, and at
tance of the US parent company'sfar European sales in recent decadeshave what rate. lt meant taking decisionson
larger resourcesfor Ford of Europe -- been concentratedin the north: in what productivitylevelscouldbe achieved
a major internationalcarmakerin its Germany and Britain, Belgium and the without taking the worker past the point
Netherlands. In the rich markets of of revolt, and then judging methodsand
own right.
France,Italy and Spain,as well as in the designsaccordingly.The target throughother poorer, but developingMediter- out was the maximisationof Ford profit.
Into Spain
ranean markets, the company's sales the constantincrease
of Ford production:
In fact the parent company undertook were
and arecomparativelytiny.
as much to be won as possibleat the
the initial two years'development
work,
expenseof the worker.
which was carried out in Detroit. It was The extent of Ford's desireto set into
the parent company'sAAA credit rating those markets is revealed by company
that made raising what finance was documentsfrom 1972.At that time Ford .CostCutting
neededfor the Ford Spain investrnent was sellingEscortsand Taunusesin those
no more than a matter of technicalities.markets at a price that meant a loss of The Fiesta uses fewer different parts Escort
to
214O
for
the
1394
compared
around
$95 a car.
As in all major projects,it providedconsiderable manpower and tcchnological Therewasalsothe attiaction of the cheap and each is produced in larger numbers
input. And, above all, the fact that labour availablein Spain compared to and by fewer workers as a result.Fewer
ultimately it was the Ford main board other European countries (including componentsmeansless to be assembled
that took the decisions,
placedit in a very Britain, when the project was first con- so that fewer assemblyworkers per car
different perspective from that of a sidered),and the repressive
ruling regime. are needed.And the new techniquesand
Drocessesintroduced round the Fiesta
European manufacturer contemplating
geographically
part are centredround increasedproductivity.
Spain
was
an
integral
a $lbillion investment.
of Europe, and a Ford plant there could But it all dependson the workers'accep
Given that the parent company spends be an integralpart of Ford's European tance of what the company demands.
between $lbillion and $l.4billion an- production. At the sametime, it would Small wonder the operationsmanagerat
nually on expansion, modernisation,locate the companyin yet another coun- Dagenhamwasso pleasedwith the Fiesta.
replacement
offacilitiesandspecialtools, try, further spreading the long term "From a productionpoint of view it's the
$lbillion or so over five years on the political and economic risks that might best designwe've ever had to handle.It's
Fiestais little more to the companythan lacethe Americanmultinational.
a straight-forward assemblyjob . . . "
a hiccup.And to placeit in tts true pers(
6)
plant and the Fiesta Ford News10.12.19"7
pective, note that in 1976 alone the The new Spanish
pitched
came
together
because
were
both
Becauseof this the Fiesta is cheap for
grossprofits aniountedto
shareholders'
rapid Ford to produce
it was designedto
centrally at thc same target
$l .Tbillion.
growth through opening up the south- cost the company significantlylessthan
The Fiesta prograrnmc hac.ltwo main ern European market. Iacocca had the very profitable Escort. There is no
elements:the creationof new or expan- his own way of puttingit. "'We are not doubt that the company is achievingits
ded manufacturingfacilitieson the one Ford-Eurooe.We are Ford of a half of cost targets,but this is not reflectedin
hand, and the productionof a new Ford Europel And that is what we'll remainas the price to the customer.The motor
mini on the other. lnitially, thesewere long as we can't providethe carsthat the industry is an oligopolisticbusiness- a
considered as two separate projects; other half wants. . We can't go on for- comparatively small number of manuFord intended to start manulacturein ever importing foreign workers into facturers dominate each sector in each
Spain with or without the mini, and northern Europe. It's time to go and market. As a result they do not compete
vice-versa.And the company anyway build our cars in the places where the on price. Instead. price ievels reflect
sees investmentsin new manufacturins manpower already exists. l-et's export the costs of the less efficient manufacand stop importing the turers
and the larger companieswith
facilities as a much longer rerm rnattei the factories
'
lower costs such rs Ford make disorothan it does its inyestnrentin one par- mcn !" (.lerdler p4 1)
t i c u l a rm u d e l .T l r eo r i g i n ailn t e n l i o nw a s Planningthe Fiestafor productionany- portionatel]largeprofits.
that Cortinasand Escortsfor southern where and with componentsto form the Thereseemslittle doubtthat the comoanv
Europeanmarketsshouldbe sourcedin basisof Ford's next
of small c u u l d s e l lt h e c : r p r o f i t a b l yi.n i t s e s t a b Beneration
Spain.
US cars was a maior oDeration.
It meant lished marketsin particular,at a much
designingnot jusi a saieable
car, but tor lower pnce. But Ford doesnot need to
PasturesNew
profit, takinginto accountall the complex do so: rt can take a largeprofit and still
Forcl's plants form the nucleus from relationships
involvedin manufacturin_e.
sell the carscompetitively,
as many as it
28
Engine:
Castingsfor all engines Dagenham,UK
Machiningand assembly:
l,000cc ValenciaSPain
I ,100cc ValenciaSpain
l,300cc DagenhantUK
1,600ccDagenhamUK
tsodyPanels:
DagenhamUK
Genk Belgium
SaarlouisGermanY
Valencia Spain
Transaxlegearbox(for front wheeldrive):
DagenhamUK
Valencia Spain
SaarlouisGermany
Bordeaux France
Final assembly:
In addition,other importantcomponents
arc also produccdat
and sub-assernblies
the followingplants:
Basildon.Dagenhlnr,Enficld, lrantingin Britain:Genk in Belgiurn;
ton. Tretirrest
Belfast in Nortlrern lrelandl Cologne,
Slarlouisand \! ulirath tn WestGermany.
firr the US versionare
Sonreconrponents
even suppliedfrom Ford divisionin the
USA.
has the capacityto make. In Britain, for
example,the basicFiestais pricedabove
the basic Escort- eventhough the Fiesta
was designedfrom the first to cost Ford
lessthan the Escort.
The internationalpattern of the Fiesta's
production was plannedwithin the same
rationale. It involves the transoort of
over vast
componentsand sub-assemblies
distances.and the assemblvof the car
So we havc the picture of carburettors
being suppliedto Saarlouis.Dagenham
and Valenciafronr Ford's Belfastplant.
Dic cast transaxlecasingsand Searcomponents are sent fronr Cologne to Borare sent
deauxl the conrpletcdtransaxles
fronr there to Saarlouis,
Dagenhamand
Valencia.These three asscmblyplants,
each with its own stampingplant, share
with Genk the supplyof body stampings.
All cylinderblock and head castingsfor
t l r e | . 0 0 0 c c a n d I . l 0 0 c c e n g i n e sa r e
producedin Dagenham,
and then sent to
Valenciato be machinedand assernbled.
itself at not one but three locationstn Somebuilt up enginesare then sentback
Europe. What is certain though is that to Britain, for installing in Dagenhanr
any extra cost involved in this complex built Fiestas.At the sametime, Dagenham
multinational production operation is, is the sole source for the 1300cc and
(US) engines
simply very
or will be, amply compensatedfor by l600cc
lightly modified Escort engines.The US
savingselsewhere.
enginesare sent to Saarlouis,where they
are mated up with transaxlesfrom BorJigsaw
Fiesta
deaux before being installedin the safer
T.hemain manufacturingcentresfor the Fiestasassembledthere and sent to the
US. And so the list goeson.
Fiestaareas follows:
29
serve it weil in this respect.Partly it's hausted, bringing the flow of profits
Balancing Act
What Ford has done is juggle with the a matterof flexibility.Manycomponents, from Fiesta sales into Ford's coffers
andevencompletecarsare to an abrupthalt.
different factors: economlJs of scale; sub-assemblies
e i t h e rd u a ls o u r c e d
o r c a nb i s u b s t i t u t e d
transport costs; market locationsldual
by similar products made elsewhere.In It is most unlikely that the company
sourcings;existing capacity and specialthe event of a dispute at one plant, for would take such a risk without careful
isation;attainableproductionrates;poliThat would indicate
instance, the company can attempt to protectivemeasures.
tical considerations.Possiblecombinboost production at the alternative in the first placean establishedmonitorations have then been costed as far as source.
Coupledwith stockpilesandstocks ing system to gauge militancy in the
possible down to, for instance,thc
in transit,this may enableit to withstand more important plants, for while concost of extra stocksto allow for transit lengthy
disputes.Even the long supply tinuously high stock levels would be
time, including 40 day stocks of com- chains
may be an asset;stretchingright prohibitively expensive,a strategicbuild
ponent sole-sourced from Britain as across
Europethe goodsin transitcanbe up of stocks before a dispute would be
opposed to the usual 20 days. There is used during
the dispute,and then re- invaluable.Again, it would be better for
evenan allowanceof an exrri 2% on UK placedby rush
transportafterthe dispute. Ford to provoke a strike at a time of its
French and Spanish labour costs to
choosing,than wait until militancy.comallow for a lower 'confidence level of So in the event of
a shutdown of the commitment and confidenceon the shooachievingthe total capacity installed as Dagenham Fiesta engine
line, the com- floor havebuilt up. This alsodepends
on
against Saarlouis'.(Ford internal docu- pany's aim would
be to boost output successfulmonitoring of the iituation
ments) The decisionson what is made of the Valenciaenglne
line to supply on the shop floor. But such tactics can
where are then made on the basis of extra units to the
Daqenhamand Saar- . be very successful
for the company.
both cost data and the unquantified louis assemblylines.
With a higher outcriteria suchas the politicalaspects
and put of the Valenciaenginedcirs from All these options, and ultimately Ford's
Mr Ford's personalwhims.As tlie Econo- thesetwo plants,
stocksof the Dagenham ability to retain control of the shop
mist IntelligenceUnit put it, the Fiesta engrnes
could be stretchedout to mini- floor. depend on a lack of concerled
'is
the first car to make full use of the rnise
interruptions in supply of any action by the workforce. The company
integratedFord of Europemanufacturing model.
Similarly, if the Valenciaengine dependson management'sflexibility to
base . . The p recise.politicaland engin- plant
were shut down, the Dagenham outflank workers' actions. The most
eeringbrlancingact has been delicately engines
plus stocksof Valenciainqines seriousthreat to that flexibility is organachieved'(March I 976).
would enablethe Saarlouisand Disen- isation of the workforce across the
ham assemblylines to maintainproduc- company as a whole. The trouble is that
tion evenif the disputewerelong drawn the international spread of production
posesa major barrier to wider shop floor
The Battleground
out.
orqanisation.
The Ford Motor Companyhas invested
enormoussumsof money in the Fiesta,
It's difficult enoughfor Ford workers in
purely in anticipationof lucrativeprofits. Control Tactics
one country, sharinga common language
J u s lh o w l u c r a t i v e
d e p e n dos n l h e c x l e n t Not all components are dual sourced and separatedby comparatively small
to which the company can keep the though, for the temptation of higher distances,to organiseeffectrvelyagainst
plants at Dagenham, Saarlouis and profits through economiesof
scale-has the company on anything more than a
Valenciachurningout car after car, day temptedFord to singlesourcea number local plant or shoplevel.Evenhere,
maior
in, day out. Everyinterruptionto produc- of components.Theseincludethe trans- problemsof communicat
ion. sectionaliim
tion, every car lost, nteansa sliver of axle units (Bordeaux), engine castings and cumbersomenational union
machinicing lost froni the top of the cake. (Dagenham), radiatori (nisilOon) an? ery arise.On a Europeanscale
the probcarburettors(Belfast)on the Fiesta,as lems are multipliedmany times.Workers
It meansthat Ford must ensurea con- well as a number of body panelspro- in France.Germany.Belgium.
Spainand
stant flow of componentsand materials ouceoat vanous DIants_
the UK use six diifereni languages
plus
to the assemblylines and, havingdone
those of the intmigrants.It meansmuch
so, keep the linesmt-rving
as fastas p.rs- An effective dispute in the sole source greaterdistances ovbr a thousandmiles
sible. It's partly a technical problem. plants could hit the companyhard. In from Halewood r o !'alencia.
with disp a r t l y o n e o f d e a l i n gw i r h o u r i i d es u p - some cases,if the situationwarranted. proportionatelv
larserravelandtelephone
p l i e r s . B u t a b o v e a l l i t ' s a m a t t e r o f it might be possible to take out
. h e r er r e t h a t m a n y
the c o s t s a s a r e s u l r T
Ford's ability to cope with the constant tooling and shift productionelsewhere. nrore unions
anC anotherlaver. the
battles for control of the shopfloor. But that is not alwayspossible.Closure i n t e r n a t i o n a
nn
s .t o o .
u ln i 1 . n, . r 9 J n i s 3 t i o o
of the Bordeaux piant, for instance, B u t t h o s ei r n i s h o r : : , , t e b u i l t a n d t h e
The international nature of the car's would inevitably halt all Fiesta produc- battles foughr *hen and
where they
production will, the company hopes, tion the moment that stockswere ex- an s e .
Working on the Workers
"The reason they're frightened is that they know if they lose their job at Ford, there's such unemployment round these parts that they might never get another job."
In the day to day struggleson the shop
floor, it is immensely advantageousto
Ford that the workers do not seebeyond
the local managementto the world-wide
strategythat governsFord.
The national characterof workers'orsanisation. both of shop stewardsand of
Trade Unions, only assistsFord management. A multinationalcompanylike Ford
can only be the winner if its workforceis
divided between nations. There are
severalstrategiesthat Ford managersuse
in the constant attempt to maximise
profits that we can isolateand examine.
Ford selectsthe sitesfor its new factories
carefully.Proximity to marketsis important. But there are long term advantages
to management in locating plant in
industrial areaswhere traditional industries are being run down, where workers
arc already industrially trained, and
whose commitments and expectations
increasetheir dependencyon'the work
Ford will offer.
Ford's arrival in Halewood in 1963 was
typical. 'Merseyside and lancashire was
a depressedarBa. Traditional industries
were in decline. Unemployment figures
were high and wages were low. Ford's
had the pick of the labour market, and
the Company followed a recruitment
policy which was consistentwith its aim
of obtaining a trouble-free plant on
Merseyside
It aimed to recruit the
cream of the labour market . . . the unemployed were regarded with some
element of suspicion.' (Beynon p.89)
This was 1963. In . the same year Ford
were building a plant in Genk, Belgium.
'lt is
situated in the countrysideoutside
the small industrial town of Genk . . . In
t
ffiui
--D
the early 60s Belgian coalmining was in
decline. As it formed the backbone of
economic activity in the province of
Limburg there was large scaleunemployment and anticipated unemployment.
The provincial authorities and the trade
unions constantly pressed the govemment for other forms of employment and
new investment' (Solidaity Vol 5 no 6).
Both outside and inside the United
States, Ford has grown on the backs of
the mining, engineering, steel and shipbuilding industries. The privations and
stressesof working in a Ford plant have
been forced on people brought to desperation point - victims of the fluctuations of capital.
Date
Phce
Local Industries
Halewood
1963
Shipyards,docks
1963 Coalmining
Genk
1965
Coal mining, steel
Swansea
19'lO Coal,steel
Saarlouis
Bordeaux 1973,1976Shipyards
Valencia
19'76
1980
Bridgend
Steel
'The
At Genk,
Ford company welcomed
this situation. It was preparedto erect a
new factory but only on its own terms."
(Solidority) These conditions resembled
Ford Workers' Group Dagenham
3l
thoseaccepted
earlierby the tradeunions In September
1977,Ford announced
that
at f{alewood
: 'a runningperiod,in this it was to come to the areaand set up a
instanceof five years,with lower wages new engineplant at tsridgend.The Welsh
than werebeingpaid in other Ford plants DevelopmentAgencywas overjoyed.The
in the country' (ibid). The Belgiantrade paperswerefilledwith picturesof smiling
unions,just like the British, signedthe local ntrrablesstanclingon a piece oT
agreement
on Ford'sterms.
wastelandin front of a signsaying:'cedwir
AlthoughFord had to investin new plant safle hwn ar gyfer ffatri newyd"d Ford
in Europe,therc was rnoneyto be made Motor Company'.
by playinghard to get.
Just who had the trump
card in the whole
-Holland,
deal can be guesserl.
Belgium,
France.WesrGermany.Spainand Ireland
Site for Sale
ln December1976,the British SteelCor- had all competedfor the plant, aswell as
poration took out advertisements
in the internal competition within Britain. The
Berlin authorities had offered Ford a
financial pages of the newspapers.Tl.re 'package'that
'staggered
the city officials'
Britishsteelindustrywasbeingrun down,
'inject
new
and the governmentandBritishSteelhacl so desperatewere they to
life
into
a
dying
city'.
Saarland
was also
essembled
a paekage
to rry andencourage
new invcstmentin the areasaffected. offered to Ford. Site.after site, whole
Worst hit would be BlaenauGwent,Car- communities, workforces, futures were
diff, llartlepool, Deeside,Cambuslangoffered up as govemment officials vied
for the investment.offering bigger ancl
and Motherwell.
biggerinducements.ll wasevensuggested
'Wc
canprovidea uniquemix of resourcesthat British
taxpayersshould pay for the
andservices
to incomingindustry.
investment,should pay Ford to produce Bridgendis no* on the Ford 'merry-go+ A reliable and flexible workforce, engines
in Britain. In the event,and given round'. and the hallmark of that merrycomprehensive
retrainingfacilities
t h e s i z eo f t h e g o v e r n m e nstr r b s i d i et h
s ,i s go-round is a feeling of helplessnessin
x First classfully serviced
industrialsites is virtuallywhat happened.
the face of the company's decisions.
ncw factoriesor custombuilt
Certainll government and unions sac+ Att ractivefinancialincentives.'
After the decisionwas announced,it was rificed considerablepolitical control and
Business
managcrs
who responded
to the revealed that Henry Ford himself had independencein return for the short term
advcrtwerc sentglossybrochurcspacked been to Britain to see prime minister economicbenefitsFord offered.
with infbrmatioq on sites, workforces Callaghanand the union leadersScanlon
rnd linancial'gifis' for the investor.'.The and Jones. He had won commitments
Ilritisll Stecl Corporation'sEast Moors from them in return for the new invest- The PeopleSay Yes to Ford
works in Cardiff will be closedsometime ment. Ford had visited the Swanseafac- 'The trlo men steppedon to the balcony
llier January 1980 and a workforceof tory and spokein privateto Brian Phillips andlookeddown on the crowd.
about 4000 people will becomeprogres- a n d T e r r y B e n n e t t ,t h e l w o m a i n c o n - "l have some news for you",
said the
sively availablefor recruitmentinto new venors at the Ford factory in Swansea. mavor. "Good
news.
Ford
is
comins
to
industries.Appoxinrately50% of these Ford concluded:"Wales has the most Almusafes."
pt'oplewill be under-50yearsof age. . . intelligentand articulatelabour force in
tlre worfd." (Surulay Times 9.1O.77) Bosch huggedFord's envo1,.The crowd
Tlrc' ntanagerlentand workforcehave a
went wild with joy. Thel jumped,they
r v i d c r a n g eo f s k i l l s. . . T h e E a s tM o o r s The people within working distanceof danced,they embracedeach other. The
works has a long history extendingover the Bridgendplant werenot awareof it, party went on late that nieht.Next day,
.10 years of first classindustrialrelations but they had had their first taste of the papersin Valenciaand.\tadridcarrijd
and can boast that over this period Ford'smultinationalstrategy.The invest- big headlines: "The people sav Yes to
half paid for by the FL.rrd!"'\Seidler)
production has never been seriouslv ment is coming
British taxpayeranyway
and already
affcctedby anv majordispute.
the onusis on the areato shovrits srati- B y t h e b e g i n n i nugt l J - . : . e \ c t \ o n ei n
Thc rvorkforcehas adapted readily to tude tt-r the Ford Motor CunrJanv. S p a i n k n e w t h a r F , . : , . ' . . . ,:.r . r n i i n cu f
new processes
. . . and the recentachieve- Resistance
to ant torO decisions
will be b u i l d i n g r n e * t r . ' : . : : . : : < . f h e y
also believed. as rr: r-.., :.:\'. !elieved
mcnts of the works over a number of met with threatsto pull out
unsatis, . i- - - : . : . . , b o n a n z a
dit'ficultyears,haverel'lected
a high degree l'actory levels of production will be b e f o r et h e m .t h a t r t
o1' rcsilienceand loyalty.' (Cardiff Bro- matched againstwhat workers in Dagen- l b r t l r e t t l w n l l l 3 r ' , , . . : i- . : r i :
ch urc. BritishSteel.o.4)
ham, Valencia or Cologne are doing. ' A t T a l a v e r a J e t .
line and into the Pressshop of the new
factory at Almusafes.This wasthe State's
respons" to the Ford workers' demands
for better wagesand conditions.
The jubilation which had greeted the
arrivalof llenry Ford and his factory had
soon turned sour.Wageswere lowerthan
expectedand many workershad to take
secondjobs. (Sunda1,Telegraph14.8.77)
After two years, the first contract was
due for renegotiationand renewal.The
workersat Ford Almusafeswere due to
see another side of the Ford Motor
Company.
Demands
they didn't waste any time. Justiniano
'fascist' mayor, launcheda
Luengo, the
public appealto the townspeople,mobilised the inhabitants of the surrounding
villages and set everyone, children,
grown-ups, old people, to work on his
plan. The plan was to persuadeeverybody to write to Henry Ford to ask him
to build the new factory in their town.
Soon nearly 75,000 cards and letters
arrivedin Dearborn.'(Seidler)
The people of Almusafes meet HenrY
Ford II
authorities. Many families already had
sonsand fathersscatteredaround the car
'Dear Sir, my papa
factoriesof Europe:
has to work in Germany and I do not
seehim very much. If you come to mY
town, my papa can work for you. He
works very hard and will be ableto come
The fascisttrade unionsin Sevilleoffered home everyday to play with me.' (htter
Ford free land 'with no limitation' and to Ford from Pepe Lopez) In the event,
'asmuch help aswe are ableto give'.
most of the local families signedaway
their
land.
The site that Ford actually chose was
outside Valencia. The Mediterranean "Just look at those fields" intoned John
is three mi.lesaway, with accessvia a McDougallof Ford Europe."Down there
lagoon. Betweenthe orangegroveswere we're going to make 400,000 enginesa
fields of artichokes,onions and lettuces, year. Here on this bare hillside we're
and beyond them rice fields. The land going to instal the PressShop. And over
was dividedinto tiny plots, all aroundthe there,whereyou seethat old onion field,
villageof Almusafes.And the villagersof we shall be assembling300,000 cars a
Almusafeswere by no meansenthusias- year. Fantastic."(.Seidlerpl54)
tic about the new factory. 636 of them,
who owned plots on the proposedsite, The only orangetree that remainsstands
showed a marked reluctanceto sell. The on a plinth outsidethe entranceto the
Spanish government authorised com- factory. It has been chromium plated for posterity.
pulsorypurchare.
The demandsmade by the 9000 strong
workforce were formulated during a
period of political resurgencein Spain.A
survey of all the workers was taken, and
the demandsdrawnup were:
l. No victimisation,no sackings
2. 30 daysholiday
3. 10,000pesetasmonthly increase
4. 40 hour week(from42k)
5. Tax and insuranceto be paid by
Ford
6 . Wage reviews every three months
threetimesyearly,
1 . Extra payments,
of 30 working dayseach
8 . The right to hold workers'meetings
in companytime
9 . Ford to recognise the workers'
electeddelegates
1 0 . 100%wagesfor sick pay
1 1 . Improved social conditions: nurseries, cheaper food, family allowance'and transport to work.
and
The companygavea resounding'no',
suggested
among other things,a wagerise
in line with the cost of living plus l%, and
a 6% risein the amount of overtime.
The workers were reinforcedby the fact
that the whole Valencia region was experiencinga wave of militancy and agitation. In line with all the metal workers
in the province, Ford workers began a
seriesof strikes.
lmmediately, Ford began to back-pedal.
They acceptedall the demandsexceptthe
i0,000 pesetasa month wage increase,
The resistancewas limited. The Govern- Lessthan three yearslater, in September offering instead an extra 7,000 pesetas
ment \l,antedFord, and so did the civic 1976, teargasdrifted acrossthe assembly (f,62) a month, but pendingconsultation
JJ
with Ford of tsritain. The offer was
accepted it was after all a good deal.
Miiitancy decreased,
andthe Ford workers
became separatcd from the wave of
strugglesthat continuedthroughoutthe
Valenciareglon.
Nationally the government was hastily Almusafes, "it will be that things will
legitimisingthe Socialistand Communist move more in the direction of Germany
parties and their $oliticians, but in than of Britain, and finish up someValencia at least, delegatesto the area where between Germany and- France
assemblieswere arrested,and many had . . . The unionshere aremild and reasonto go on the run. At the sametime Ford able, and I think they'll play a very calm
began
sacking named workers from its part in tlle future." (Sunday Telegraph
Three days later, when the unrestseemed
t 4 . 8. 7 7 )
to havedissipated,Ford cameback to the Iactoryworkers at Almusafes.Ford of Britain, The company was now losing 450 cars
and_Ford of Germany had rejected the and 1000 enginesa day. Somepartswere Fear Eatsthe Soul
settlementagreedby Ford of Spain,and beingsmuggled
out to Dagenham,
but the "Everybody wanted to come here. They
so the local managementwere ieturning shop floor there was alreadyreactingto were coming here
from all over Lancato their original cost-of-living plus l% the rumoursof 'blacked'parts.In spitaof shire. You know, expecting the paveoffer.
company intimidation, the workforce ments of the hess Shop to be lined with
T h e a n s w eor f t h e w o r k e r sw a sa n i m m e - remained solid behind their demands. gold." (Halewoodworker 1963)
diate and unannouncedindefinite walk- In desperation,Ford
Spain referredthe "I left ltaly. I had a contract in my
out strike.Ford retaliated
by withdrawing dlspute to government arbitration
pocket that really looked like gold to mb.
even its original offer, and took on its which has the force
of law. Few were I thought this wasgoing to be the answer
workers head on. There would be no surprised when this fo'und
in favour of to everything. But then, when I arrived
negotiations until a retum to work. Ford, and offered even less
than had in Genk, I was presented with another
Workers delegatesaddressinga meeting alreadybeen concededby the company. contract, that wos quite different. "
to convey this news and plan the next
(Migrant worker, Ford Genk 1969)
steps were dragged from the platform Ford presentedthis as an ultimatum to
by supervisorsand Ford security men. the workers. Already Saarlouis and "The Turkish worker at Cologne often
The workers drove them off. Then Ford Dagenham were dangerously short of lives in Fortl barracks, four to a room.
called in the State arrned riot police to components.7000 Fiestashad been lost. They have no pivate or family life. "
drive lhe workers out of the lactory. Yet the workforce showed no sisn of (Germanworker,Ford Cologne)
'Tear gas.
smoke bombs and rubblr giving .in. either to the governmentor "A
major part of the workforce are
bullets were used by police to try to I o l ' O r d .
immigants. Italians, Greeks, Yugoslavs,
clear the factory. But barricadeswere put In the face of this solid
resistance,Ford Turks and Lebaneseare the majorgrcups
up and the police were successfully decided its only
escape was to buy off at Ford. Australia's immigration scheme
repelled.'(Newsline19.l .77)
the, worken. They conceded the -and
prin- was started to supply hbour for the
ciples of the workers' demands.
postwar boom." (Ford worker, Broadoffered production workers 8l25 pesetas meadows,Melboume,Australia)
PoliceAttack
The workers occupied the f.800million (f,69) a month extra.
Ford builds its factoriesvirtually on its
factory, but not for long. As they left This wasa considerable
victorv for Ford's own terms. Its wagesare low, conditions
they were attackedby the waitingriot Spanishworkers:wagesbefore tax rose
are bad, and car production remains
police, and many were injured.A lock lrom approximalely
t2,200 a year in essentially'casual'labour. The relief at
out followed. Attempts by groups of 1974-76 to f,3,000 a year
in 1977-j9, havinga job soon fadesin the faceof the
workers to re-cntcr thc t'actory were an increaseof 55%. After
tax, wagesrose price that hasto be paid to Ford.
prevented
by armedpolice.
from about 11,930to t2.600. They also
The action had the full supportof the won four weeks paid holiday and a In order to achieveits ends.Ford needsa
sl'rplus of labour outside the plants. If
cntire workfbrce,but every attempt by month'sextrapay a year.
this is not available,then Ford will create
the workers to assembleor meet was
'pool'
of workers has a dual
prevented or broken up by the riot Ford had suffered a set back. But over it. This
next
year
the
no
purpose.
less
than
It helps defuse workers' mili20
of
the
police. The workers respondedby organ- '7
2 elecIed,worker's dele-with
eates at Almu- tancy-within the factory. and to compenising 'area assemblies'of workers from
safes
were sacked,along
34 other sate for the very high rate at which
the entire area in churches.The Sunddy
Ford made sure workerswalk out.
Times wrcte: 'The (formerly) illegil workers. Significantly,
'unurganised'
union strueture
workers' commissionshave demonstrated that the
was.
formalised,
and negotiationswere The worst exampleof this. and the one
their increasingpower to call workersout
over which Ford exerts greatestcontrol,
routrnlsed.
in the streets. Churches have day after
is, the use of migrant workersin Europe.
day been occupied sporadically for strike "lf I had a bet" rcmarkedflannsBrand, This is an extreme manifestation
of an
meetings.'
(16.1.77)
the German manufacturingdirector at employment policy common through34
out Ford
the use of insecuresections
of the community to carry out the most
unpleasant and onerous parts of car
production.
In Germany,France,BelgiumandHolland,
the bulk of production line work, at
least70-80%,is done by migrantworkers
men who have left Turkey, Spain,
Morocco and Italy for work in the
industriallydevelopedareas.
Approximatenumbersof migrant
workersin Ford Germany1976
Number %of
% producworkforce
ti.on
tlne
Cologne 14,600
55
90
Saarlouis l,800
30
10
(Kommission der EuropaischenGemeinschaften)
Just as Ford's Americanplantswere filled
with migrant labour from the Southern
States,and Dagenhamfilled with workers
from lrelandin the 1940sand 1950s,so
in Europe today, workers are 'imported'
by the trainload from the Mediterranean
countnes.
\
l
"They (Ford) go down to Italy and
Turkey, wherethey havea sort of recruiting office. The workers arrive with a
contract in their hands. And when they
get here they find they're presentedwith
another contract and they're expectedto
sign. And this contractisn't quite so nice.
But there's no choice.We come here so
that we can eam enough money to be
able to send back home. to support our
wives and kids. because there's not
enough work there for us." (ltalian
worker,Genk)
The migrant workers work long and unsocial hours and are encouragedto see
their wages in terms of their home
economy and not of the host country.
They live in hostels, often in barrack
conditions.
In the plant they are intimidated. "The
reason they're frightened is that they
know if they losetheir job at Ford, there's
such unemployment round these parts
that they might never get another job.
And what's more if you're an immigrant
J+:"
Cologne 1973. Forti attentpted to reduce manning levels by sacking Turks returning
from holiday. The subsequerttjive tla1, strike broadened into a demand for IDM per
hour increasefor all vorkers. But Ford and the German Presssuccessfully campaigned
to divide the strikers alortg national. lines. The.police helped by attacking a peaceful
detnonslrdlron.
rvithout a job in Limburg. you have Comparison of production schedules
the police on your back all the time." betweenFord Britain andGermanyshows
just what Ford can expect of a work(Migrantworker.Genk)
forcebasedon 'contractlabour'.
Thereare many examplesof Ford threatening migrant workers over renewalof Plant
l|orking
Days on which
their contracts.The most recentwas at
days
the schedule
Ford Amsterdam.Line speedswere such
wasmet
that many production workersbecame
)'\A
Cologne
224
ill. Despitethe authenticityof their ill234
234
nessFord threatcnednot to renew the Genk
'migrants'
230
230
contractsol tliose
who stayed Saarlouis
Dagenham 234
143
homesicktocroften.(F.D.2.6.76)
llalewood
234
29
The treatmentand conditionsof immi- (Ford News
20.5.71)
grant workersin Ford'semploymentled
to a five day strike at the huge Cologne 'In Dagenhamit takes 42 man hours to
factory in 1973. (See photo caption) build a basictwo door Cortina.InBeleium
5f,
Healey
ina
it takes24 man hoursto make a similar
Taunus.'(Ford NewsJune 1975)
The use of migrant contract labour by
Ford in Europe paysdividends.'They are
brought here to work, nothing else. In
fact I would saythey'reimported,because
Ford seesthem as workers,not ashumans
but as so much new material for the
produclion lines.'(Migrantworker,Genk)
save$ound
Oodtll
General unemployment in the areasof
Ford's new factoriesadds another constraint. 'Fourteen workers chase every
job, and more than one in ten of the
youth is registered
as out of work, in the
once prosperous Saar region of West
Germany.'(Newsline22.7.77) The NeunkirchenIronworksis beingrun down,the
Rochling Burbach steelworksintends to
reduce it. labour force by 1,500. 'By
1980, between 10,000 and I 5,000 iobs
are to go ir Saar steel industryalone.'
(ibid\
As the recessiondevelopedaround the under;..ni:i:r. *htch meantthat ifthev
v h a d r o l e a v eG e r m a n v .
Thirty thousandSaarlanders
havealready world, it hit different countries at dif- h a d n o r . ' 1 .r h e:golden
Ford eriiereo
handshakes'io
left the areain recentyears,andby 1985 ferent times. Between 1973 and, l9i6
the labour Board estimatestfat another Ford laid off nearly 70,000 workers,put termrnate prematurelv many of these
tens of thousandsmore on short-time contracts.andthe uorkerswerethen sent
85,000will haveto leave.
working, and thus protectedits profits at b a c kt c .T u r k e r '( - \ R C 1 8 . 1 2 . 7 4 )
It will surpriseno-oneto know that Ford the expenseof its workers'wages.
is seriouslyconsideringtaking advantage
Layoff hy
of this situation to expand its site al [-ayoff agreements vary enormously
throughout Ford's operations. Where Tte fight against layoffs, endemic in the
Saarlouis.
they exist, they serveto under-writethe car industry . is behg led by Ford workers
essentially casual nature of the work- in the UK Ford's policy of laying off
CasualLabour
force at Ford. US workersare coveredbv * orken * ithout pay if men are madeidle
One burning issue in Ford factories a Q5% guaranteedwage agreement.bui bl d.isputesinternal to the company has
throughout the world is security of the SupplementFund had run out long led to a massivebuild up of resentment
employment and income. Plirasedand before production picked up againanJ againstthe casualnature of the work. The
rephrased in different languages,the workers were reemployed. Medical and depth of feeling on this issuehas led to
demand reoccurs
Guaranteedpav. dental insuranceran out too. 'Guvs who more disputesin Ford than any other in
work or no work.
thought they had madeit are now getting recenl vears.
a
taste of what the poor and the blacks
It is the recessions.
Ill-intbrmedand out-of-contextindustrial
when thousandsof
have
always had. I'll say this, when the
car workersare made idle, that gain the
reponing in the pressand televisionfails
publicity,but lay-offsare a daily occur- Supplement runs out it won't only be t0 point this out. The car worker is
rence in the car industry. Wheneverthey the blackswho'll be picking up a brick to presented
as petty mindedand work shy.
get some food.' (Doily Minor 28.2.75l
happen,the costsand consequences
are
Disputesare portrayed as resultingfrom
b orneby the workforce.
the actions of a few bloody minded
individuais. layoffs are presented as
Even in the US where the nesotiated Repatriation
agreements
belweenFord and the UAW In Europe too, Ford workers suffered. the inevitableresultof actionsby a selfish
are the most sophisticatedin the world, Ford of Germanyshednearly9000 of its ferv.
car workers were put out of work by the workers between 1974 and I975. This Nothing could be further from the truth.
companywith an easethat wasastound- was done in the context of a national The disputes which have received the
ing. In a period of l8 months during campaignagainst'migrant' workers. and most publicity haveinvariablybeenstrikes
1 9 7 4a n d i q 7 5 F o r d l a i d o f f 4 b . 0 0 0U S most of those who lost their iobs were againstthe provocativeuse of lay-offsby
car workers.
nrigrants.Many ,;f these were working manasement,
36
Cars and tools were smashed,car radios
wereturned on, the doorslockedand the
keys disposedof. The plant manager's
office was then occupiedand picturesof
company executives torn down and
destroyed.
Neither the company nor the unions
couldcontrolthe situation,But leadership
and coordinationacrossthe plant was
weak and Ford was able to split the
workers from the Body shop from those
in the PTA. A black worker, Winston
Williams, from the Body Plant, was
sacked.The union officials dropped the
guaranteedweek demand in favour of
reinstatementof Williams, whereas the
PTA stuck to its original demandsover a
guaranteedweek. With the two main
plants divided, the demand for guaranteed layoff pay went into procedure,
frornwhichit neveremerged.
.r{";-
'+
!.
Jr-.r
;l
i
Ford were clearly rnore reluctant to use
lay-offs after the riot.
. fi
Rampage
It wasthe eveof the launchingof the new
at Dagenham.The Ford UK
Cortina
The day Dagenham workers v)ere pushed blockadedin their office.
unions were negotiatinga new contract
too fdr. September I 976
waspaid.
(nothing on lay off pay) and the f, had
collapsedto an all-tirnelow with ChancelAnger
lor Healey and prime minister Callaghan
In July. 1973, just before the summer The lessonsof this experiencespread laying into the Labour Party Conference
shut-down,Ford ran out of con-rodsas very quickly. and the demand for a at Blackpool.
a result of a strike at their sole supplier, guaranteed
8 hours pa1 emerged.It was
Smethwick. Lay-offi would have to be very quickly extended to e guaranteed On 29th September1976, at midnight,
paid by Ford. But then management40 hours pa) ever) * eek rrtrrk r.rr nt.r the Body Plant were laid off. It was the
took a coursewhich Ford workerssay is u.,ork. Feelings ran high particularly at fifth week running that they had been
not uncommon. They provoked a strike Dagenhamin the Bodl Plant and the laid off. Anger turned into a riot. This
within Ford, in this caseover Ford drivers' PTA. (The PTA *as. on average,ex- was how the Daily Mirror descrlbed it.
insurance.The whole of Halewood and periencing
one unpaidla1'-offeachweek.) "Rioting car workerswent on a rampage
Dagenham were laid off v,ithout p^y. The ideaalsodeveloped
that the bestway of destructionat Ford'sDagenham
early
to resistla1oili *'as to refuseto leave today. They smashedcars and started
This action turned the whole issue of the plant whena la1-off occurred.
fires in the factory. Hundredsof police
layoffs into a running sore. On August
29th, after the summerholiday.thc night A run of la1o t'li in the PTA in Septen- surroundedthe area but the car men
them
shift at Dagenhamwas laid off for an ber provokeda riot. lt iblloweda meeting locked the gates and bombarded
with
a
hail
of
missiles."
hour and lost an hour's pay. The follow- in the canteenduringa lay-off.This was
srnouldcredinto 1977. The
ing night they announceda lay-off at particularl) u'ell attended with many Resentrnent
such Engine Plant developed a strategy to
I l.50pm -- too late for many workers WestIndians,rvhousuallyboycotted
'Garage'was
section
to get home. Tltis had happenedbefore. meetings.turning up. The
fight layoffs. If any onc assernbly
and workersfacedthe prospcctofspend- still working,and the convenor'srefusal was laid off, everyonervould go out and
ing the wholenight in the factorywith no to call it to a halt inflamedthe workers picket. In May a dispute over unsafe
work and no pay. Anger mounted, at the meeting.Most of them went down condrtionsled to lay-off and this plan
windowsweresnrrshcrl
anJt lresupcrvisorsto the garage.
The picketlastedtwo
beinginrplernented.
Ke I stone
I lrp nrohr <hrrr
daysandnightsbut waseventuallyunder- PresidentWalter Reuther often recalled able to twist lhe ams erf lhe unions,to
mined by convenorsand seniorstewards being cracked over the head and beaten the point where it rs ther ',rho arekey in
callinga halt.
up by Ford's secrel police during his controllingshop t1o..:'*..rkers.It comes
In the AssemblyPlanta different strategy attemptsto organisethe unionsinsidethe as no surpdse to F,',:: * -,:kersto find
The new PresidentDouglas that someof rhe n..:: :\::.ne warnmss
developed.Future Iay-offswould hc mit Ford plants.
'will
have nu personalmemo;ies from the unionsar: :3.-.:rlj nut for thie
with total stoppageand occupation,
with Fraser
the actioncontinuinguntil the Company of UAWs formative struggles,of the c o m p a n y ,b u t i ; l - . : r : - r J m i l i t a n t
old days', rejoiced Automotive workers.
agreedto pay 80% of the basicpay during rough 'Pcrhaps
.ly'ews.
that's all to the good. It
the lay-off.
seems
to
us
that
the auto industry has Labour relations in Ford in the 1970s
It was this plan that canle nearesrro
reached
a
maturity
which demandithat have been dominared br rn o thinss.
forcingFord'shandoverlay off pay.Two
the
union
emphasisediplomacy rather First, Ford'sthreatto puli out of Brita-in
thousandBody workers were laid off in
if the workforce diln'r co-ooerate.and
t
h
a
n
m
i
l
i
t
a
n
c v (. '2 3. 5. 7 7|
June. The Assembly stewardsbegan to
second. the building of an authoritative
implement the previously agreed plan.
national negotiatine body. For Ford
Blue
Book
Picketswere set up on all main gatesand
management,
the- i*. .r::: n.,t entirely
a token occupation installed. Incoming The Unions are unlikely to disagree. seDarate.
supplies wcre turned back at the gates Outside America, wherever Ford has
as driversrefusedto crossthe picket. and set up factories,the Company has been
able to imposeits own.structureson the
Ford'srailwayIinewasrippedup.
The men's convenorBrian Elliot suppor. unions.In Britain,the Ford NationalJoint
ted, Ihe 8O%claim and Ford refusedto Negotiating Committee is typical. A1l
negotiatewith him. Union officials were matters including pay, conditions, the
called and the DagenhamPanel of Con- organisationof work and manninginside
venors 'negotiated a new disciplinary Ford plants are decided there. Such is
code'. A mass meeting was called to the constitution agreed by the unions,
arisingon
presentthis negotiateddealto the striking that all issuesand grievances
workers.It saidnothing about lay offpay the shop floor are ultimately referredto
- the officials were thrown off the plat- the officersof the NJNC.
form, and the rank and file took over, The function of the Unions (there are 20 Two major srnkesi.ir:
sr-::.:: the union
voting to continue the strike and reject representingFord workers in the [IK) is structures *irhrn F..::
LI :,-'car'.The
'sell
'Blue
the
out'.
carefully defined in Ford's
Book'. first was in lq6o. -.:.1-3:.::3i rn HaleThis is the handbook of rules and oroce- wood. The s€!-or:;.::. l:-. . :s still re':i:::.
dure thatgoverns
the relationship
beiween membereda: rhe
s:::ke'. Both
WorkplaceStruggles
the unionsand the company.This recog- wereostensiblriL,r
::.:.::
:::'::,
. but had
Within days another meeting was called
nises the unions right 'to exercisetheir vastlydifferenrJ,':.|ei -::.: a:
by the union. This included workersfrom
functions' but 'within the framework of
o t h e r s e c t i o n sw h o h a d n o t b e e n d i r e c t l y the
Blue Book' (Agreementsand Con- The 1969 strike * '-: : .:--:.r tor the
involved in the disputc. A comprtrmise
* r: - r - , . . . : : i . m o v e shoo-flo,'r-ha<e
ditionsof Employment).
offer had been worked out by the union
m e n t . T h e l a - l s l : - i ' . :- : . . t : : t o r v f o r
a n d n t a n a g e m e n t , a l l o w i n g 2 4 h o u r s This liamework imposesan elaborate t h e t r r J e u : : : . : . : : ' r ' : : D r ' , n ot h e
notice ol lay of1s. TIre National Joint proceLiuu
r en l h e u n i ( ) n w
s h e n v car n i s s u e
N e g o t i a t i n g C o r t r r r r itte e . a l s o c o r n n i t t e t l arises;'At each stageof procedureevery n l o t o r p r L , J u J : : . ' : B . :
: t:.: of the
i t s e l l t o p u r s u i n g ' v i g o r o u s l l , 't l 0 , , i ) a y o f t ' attempt will be made to resolveissues I 9 7 l F L , r . s : : : i : : r - . : ' l : : l i l i t a n c y
p a y i n t h e n a t i o n a lp a y c l a i r n
-. ' r unioll
raiscd,and tliat until procedurehasbeen I t l , . l h , " ' c ' ,r . . ' . : . " - l
carriedthroughtherewill be no stoppage , . , f f i , i . - r l i. .A . i ' . : ' : 3 - :rir'ercrrt
l'hc vote was close. but the strike was
o r o t h c r u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a cl t i o n '( i l l t l ) . q u a l i N , . ' i , . : : : , t . - . : : : : : - : : : : : : : .s an t a t i v e
-... ';;,;.;;i
i.i; i;;o' .f . ,:---,-.
o v c r . T h e N J N C p u r s u e dt l i e q u e s t i o no 1 '
l a 1 ,o t ' f p l y i n t h e n c g o t i a t i o n s o v c r t h c
natiortal pay clairl. But not vigorousll
e n o u g h . F o r d r n a n a g e r l e n tr c t u s e d t o b e
lrroved.
T l u s s e v e r e l \r e srti e t s t l r c u n i ( ) n sr' ( ' ( r m r i g h t * i l i i . ' : . r t - , - : . . : - : . i : . i , . i t r t l U g h
tor manoeuvre.ln tlre UK. as elservhere.S c a n l o n. , : t - J : - , . J : . : , 3 - : : : t a s t h e s e
the unions have chosento contirrnttcr n t e l t r r l t . , \ : t r - : - . : ' i - , i i : r l s e v c r a l
Ford'sinstruction.Thisgivesthecompany g i ) \ ' e I n l ) r ' t . l : :i : . : : r : . : - : - : . . ( S e e C I S
a dccisiveadvantage.
By continuallyri- P a . v i t t r1 ' r i l : i C r ; s ; , i: : l r T h e r c h e c k e d
T l t i n g s l r a v e e o n t e J l o n g w o y s i n t c asserting
the'constitutional'authorityof t h e g r o r rt i t J u J : ! , , i e : . : t h e s t e w a r d s
H e n r y F o r d ' s o p e n h o s t i l i t y t o t r a d e r l r e N J N C ,F o r d I r a sb e e nr b l e t o e i o d e n ) o v e n t e n L
union organisation in his plants. The the strengthand militancy of organisation
The method n'as
First they pubUnion of Auto Workers (UAW) ex- on the shop floor itself. It has also been
l i c l y s u p p o r t e d t h e s h o p stewards,and
38
The NationalJoint
NegotiatingCommittee
L,ockedinto procedure,lhe union
negotiating team sound militant
enough. The minutes of the NJNC
meetings between Ford and the
unions in no way convey a picture
of identity of aims and inreresrs.
Points are invariablyhotly contested, and the atmosphereis often
hostile. Certainly rhe impression
given by Ford managementis of
concessions
beinggrantedonly very
reluctantly.
The Pay Claimstoo, apart from the
fact that they arebecomingincreas.
ingly sophisticated,
arealsocouched
in the languageof confrontation
and classpolitics. The information
given and the casemade is given
weighlby the research
andanilysis
provided by Ruskin CollegeTrade
Union ResearchUnit. In the 1977
Claim, even a firm of City stock
brokers were commissioned to
analysethe company's accounting
methods,showingthat the accounts
understatethe true Drofits Dosition
of the Company.
But the battles are set pieces.
Procedure.the professionalism
of
the unionofficials.the gapbetween
the shop floor and the NJNC is as
wide as ever.Only those aspectsof
rank and file feeling which the
union is preparedto deal with get
an airing. Even the 1977 Claim,
the 'most advancedof its kind',
was never put before a massmeeting either before or after it was
submittedto the company.No plan
of action was laid out to achieve
the claim at shop floor level. Shop
stewards were not allowed the
opportunity to make proposalsor
amendments,nor to discussit at a
shop stewards conference. The
claim remainsa reflection of what
the union side of Ford National
Joint NegotiatingCommittee consider to be the aspirationsof the
shop floor.
opened up the union structuresto their tightly knit stewards organisation. Fint
influence.'lt is the memberswho must they announced to the stewards that
decide,' Jack Jones wrote to the ly'elv from now on 'everything would be played
Statesman
in 1971.But powerwould not by the book'. Stewardswere to receive
be allowed to remainwith the shop floor. a full work allocation.They weren't to
T h e u n i o n w o u l d l e a d .l t w o u l d b e t h e be allowed off their jobs without the
National Joint NegotiatingConrmittee express permissionof the supervisors.
that would decide.but the shop floor "'Either do the job or get off the paywould be represented.
Two or threeyears roll', becamethe 'Requirementto Operago
there were no lay members ate'. Day and night local agreementon
on the negotiatingteam. the TGWU has manning and conditions were ignored.
two senior lav convenors.The shop Men were physically prevented from
stewardsare involved rn the rvhole ol seeingtheir stewards."(Socialist llorker
the processof submittineand agreeing t 6 . 6 . 7I )
the termsof settlement'.
(op.crr.y
Moss Evans of the T&GWU publiclv
Despite the talk. the agreemenrwith
Ford at the end of the l97l ntne week expressedhis concern at the deterioistrike reflected none of thesehigh prin- ation of labour relations in the Ford
plants (Guardian 17.6.71). But he did
ciples.lt was a new kind of agreement,
nothing.
'no
Shop stewardswere regularly
to run for two yearsand with
strike'
suspended.In Halewood the attack on
clauses.
But the decisionon it wasnot to
the stewardswas most overt. The men
be made in the traditional way, by show
had been without a wage packet for
of hands. It was to be ratified by a
20 weeks,and they were unpreparedfor
secret ballot of the Ford workforce.
the confrontation. 'A long strike, a
One worker describedthe event.'After return to a speededline, walkout after
nine weeks of strike you read something walkout, debts still unpaid and the sumin the paper,or hearit on the news.Per- mer holidays just round the corner. In
haps you go round to your mates.You the second week of June their resolve
travel out to the plant. A few placards. was put to the test. John Dillon, the
'No
ballot show of hands.'You look stewardfor the lads on the Masic Roundround. No one to talk to. 'Ah, fuck it.' a b o u t w
. a ss a c k e d . ' ( B e y n p
o inl 0 ;
Put your cross.Back home.' (Beynon
Ford managementhad decided to make
p298)
an 'example'of him following the refusal
There are limits to union democracy.
'section
of his
to follow procedure.The
This was clearly put by Scanlonat the
violent
responseof the flalewood workers
'There
time of the ballot.
comesa time caught
both the unionsand Ford manage.
when there are responsibilitieson
ment
by
surpnse.Dillon was reinstaied
the president of the union that exceed
the responsibilitiesof everyone else' but his shop stewardcredentialswerenot
restored.The stewardscommitteedid not
(Beynonp304).
feel confident enough to insist. The
senior stewardsdecidedto plav it cool
'Ball and
Chain'
lor a while. As they pur ir: 'ihey'd come
within
a hairs breadth of destruction'.
The Secretballot followed by the ragged'ball
and chain' was lifted. As far as
nessof the return to work left everyone The
at Ford confused. This confusion left management was concetned a new era
the lads on the line, and particularlythe had dawnedat Ford.
stewards, lulnerable. lt was, Beynon
by flalewoodworkersin
notes, 'a wlnerability that was to prove A leafletput out'The
Sackins of John
fatal'. The stewardshad been isolated 1975 headed'The
Ford bosiesand the
by the 'new revolutionaryAmericanstyle Dillon' read:
agreement',with its two year contract, union had made a deal. John had to be
its no strike clause,and its reaffirmation moved away from his section to the
'Blue
Garage,and he would never be steward
of the
Book'procedure.
again. The Wet Deck (his old section)
Ford managementusedit to take on the rejected the deal. For months they re39
fused any other stewardlbut the thing
hasgonethrough.ln 1972 Ford usedthe
pretext of a sympathystrike in support
of a rent demonstration,
to breakup-the
Wet Deck, sending29 mcn to different
sections.Ford have managedto have it
their own way for nearly two years.'
The defeat of the shop stewardsleft the
shop floor in Fords plants without a
coherent leadershipand little direction.
Although Ford certainly did not get
things all their own way, shop floor
militancy lacked unity and the struggle
developedhaphazardly.
Aftermath
These skirmisheseventually focused on The unions in the plants co-operated.
one issue the fight againstlay-off. For The informal organisation that had
one thing inevitably followed from these existed before could not survive the
disputes.
Wherever
a disputeoriginated
it turnover. absenteeism,
the addition of
led to bottleneclsin prodrrction.Ford's 'green' labour. and the imposition of
solution was to lay workers off without procedure supported bir union officials.
pay.(seeCasualLabour)
Speedup wasinevitable.
But fbr the moment, Ford facedwith a
major productioncrisis,were ready by Without anl coherentshop floor leaderSeptember1974to abandonthe contract ship For,J had it all their own way. This
made in the Spring, and reopennego- also left Ford with exccptionallyhigh
tiations with the union on the question stocksof cars.Whenthe expectedrecesof pay. This effcctively deflated the s i t r nh i t B r i t a i ni n r h e S p r i n g1 9 7 5t h e
growth of shop floor militancy,andonce unlons were tn a strong position to
to closures
againplacedthe union sideof the NJNC control shop floor resistance
at the centre of the stage.The men and shorttime working.
wanted an end to lay-offs without pay, MossEvanswasfirst to speak"Disruptive
and an interim pay award. They were action will not persuadepeopleto buy
to get much more than they bargained cars". The Secretaryof the Ford
Con1 or .
venorssupportedthis view: "Thrisis not
'the
The daily attack on Ford productionb1
tinre to go off at a tangent.It is a
the shop floor had seriouslyerodedthe situationwhen the trade unionshaveto
authorityof the unions.They had tacitll' keep clearheads." (EveningNews19.2.75)
supportedthe Tory wagefreeze.This had And from the NJNC came the message
limited the negotiating
arm of the NJNC "We have already collected over 1.000
and shifted the action to the shop floor. srgnatures
. . . and we shallhavea meeting
The October1974interimpay agreement,with our MPsat the Houseof Comnrons."
was designed,
amongother things.to set
right this inrbalance,
in favour of Ford One fifth of Ford workers were put on
and tlre otficial union negotiatingteam short-time.They would get 80% of basic
hourly ratesduringrhe periodthey were
the NJNC.
laid off. But a Ford spokesman
added:
'The fund
is not ine-rhaustabl,-''.
The Spring 1974 Pay Claim wasa squalid
affair. It was settled with little or no
confrontation,within Phase 3 of the
Conservalivegovernment'sPay Frccze.
It left considerableill-feelingon thc
shop l1oor. By Septenrber1974. with
the governmentdefeatedand the run up
to the GeneralElectiorr,thc whole issue
of pay and condittonswas bust right
open at Ford wilh a determinedwalk
out by 1,800 Press Shop workers at
Dagenliam.
Ford workers lllt that the wagesgap
tlrat had left tlrent the klwest pard car
workersin Britain rvaswidening.Bittern e s ss t i l lh u n go v c r f r o n rt h e 1 9 7 1d e i e a t
after a nine week strikefirr parity. Thel
had got an 18 increase
overtwo yearsout
Ford's workforce \\'as isolated. Shop
o f t h a t . I n 1 9 7 3 ( l , h a s e2 ) t h e y g o t Discipline
stewardpower in both Dagenhamand
anotherf1.40 and in the Phase3 fiasco Supcrficially
the pay offer wasattractive. flalewood had been sapped.The trade
just ll.60.
An additional{7 to tq gross,with in- union leaderswere in ciose partnership
in I I and l8 months.Onceagain with the LabourGovernment,
In July 1974, whcn govcrnmenrwage creases
nloreconrestraintwas finally abandoncd,
thc basic the contractwas to run for 2 years.But cernedwith its survivalthan the interests
alongside
the of the Ford irorkers.Union leadersdesrvagefirr day{ime linc workcrsat Ford written into tllc agreement
rvasC38,ftrr a 40-hourweck.Theydidn't money wereharshproductivityandntan- c r i b e dt h e s i t u a t i o ne r F o r d a s ' u n a c c e p table' but hlstenedtL) point out "We've
haveto look far to gaugejust hotvrniser. ning deals.
ablc that wage really was.Cliryslerwor. Centralto the 'new disciplinecode'was got a good NJNC. and rhey're right
kers in Coventryfor example,had just the requirctnentthat workersshouldbe behindus".
settledtbr a basicratc of €53.57,almost preparedto move aroundifnccessary
fro Ford's war againstthe power of shop
116 a week more for the samework. from job to job, andthat a pool of 'Utility stewardsand milirantson the shopfloor
Turnoverat Fords,llways high. bccante Men' should be on hand for use where continues.In June 1977 a particularly
worsethanever.Therewcrc alsoan unpre- necessary.
A huge recruitmentcampaign strong 'shop' in the Body plant was
cedentednuniberof disputesoriginating (on TV and in the press)followedthe divided into two. The stewardswere
on the shopfloor, tliat Ford management agreement.
Incomingworkerswere delib- confined to one half of the shop only.
found they could not handle.Ford wor- eratelyplacedto breakup and recompose "They're chasing the stewards around
kers,unableto improveoverallwagesby wholesections,
andshifts.The PressShop ail the time. Every time they go off
shop floor action,were trying everything at Dagenham,lbr instance,which hasled their jobs to see to an issue they are
to lighten their workload,fronr simplein- thc Octoberlg74 strike,found itselfwith taken off pay." (DagenhamFord Workers
subordination
to thedemandfor lesswork. two to three hundred new workers. Group)
40
Merchan
I
ath
such army men and Philco-Fordtechnicians.
services
military for behind-the-lines
as transport and warehousingare provid- The vice-president
Comof Philco-Ford's
ing experienceit hopesto apply in other municationsand Electronicsdivision,in
nations.'
underdeveloped
an interview in Elecftonic ly'ews,waxed
prospects
business
Startingwith a small contractto supply eloquenton the future'fundamental
chanroadbuilders,Philco-Ford built up a affordedby expected
and America's5trategic
contractinvolvement, gesin geopolitics
$32mi1liona year'conducting
a vehic'le ioliciei'. ile sirw the evolution of new
which included
troop transports
Ford's war-time programme produced maintenance service for the whole Da supersystemsof massive
generation
of fast
new
a
by
serviced
and
suPPlYing
command,
Nang
combat
57,000
8,600 B-24 Liberator bombers,
prospectsfor
aircraft enginesand over a quarter of a operatingan Army vehiclesparts supply supply ships.And busincss
'For tlioseof us in
system,stretching Philco-Fordwererosy.
million jeeps, tanks and other assorted line and warehousing
s this developtelecommunication
to Saigon,and military
war machines,all in lessthan threeyears. from Tacoma,Washington,
linesbetraditional
that
the
means
ment
equipment
handling
dockside
keeping
the
Without the war contracts the company
might well have collapsedbefore Henry in runningconditionin Vict Nam' (Tri- tween strategicand tactical equipment
can
Ford II could take over. The lessonwas continentalNews Service.AmericanRe- will blur', saidthe vice-president.'We
seethe needfor fixed, strategictrunking
not lost. and Forrl has becomea major p o r t ,D e c e m b e1r O t h ,I 9 7 1) .
contender for the increasinglylucrative Ex-Ford man Robert McNanrarawas a networks,which tie our basestogether,
contracts emanating from the United greatproponentof the electronicbattle- will diminish. And in their place we will
ations
telecommunic
developtransportable
StatesDepartmentof Defence.
field when he wasDefenceSecretary,and
tth a t m a y b e t a k e na n y w h e r e
e
q
u
i
p
m
e
n
Philco-Ford was a major supplier of
r high
dnytirne,and set up immediatelyft-r
The technologies of space research, sensingand communicatiL-rns
systemsin
satellite communications and modern South East Asia in the 60s. The first capacity comrnunication.via satellites
weapon systemsare ever more cl('sely electrt-rnicsensingnetwurk set up ul backto the States.'
'McNamara
'comrelated. Government contracts for all
As well as electronicwarningand
SouthEastAsiawascalledthe
these sectors are carried out by the W a l l ' . P h i l c o h a d a l r e a d yb u i l t a i r c r a i t
includinga number
munications'systems,
Ford Aerospaceand Communicationswarning and control systems for the of 'defense'satellites,Philco-Fordwas
Corporation.This subsidiaryalso pro- Shah of Iran. an 'lntegratedJoint Com- alreadyworking on missiles,amongwhich
. i r c o n d i t r o n i n gc o m p o duces radirrsa
municationsSystem'for Japan,Taiwan were the Shillelaghanti-tank missileand
nenls and electronicdevicesfor Ford
and the Philippines,a nationwidetele- the Army's Chaparralair defencemissile
vehicles.Its originalnamewasthe Philcocommunicationsnetwork for the US system.Consolidateddefenceand space
Ford Corporation.This was changedto
Airforce in South Korea, and a global salesin 1967 by the Companyand the
AeronutronicFord Corporationin 1975. 'securevoice network' for the Pentagon.
Philco-Ford subsidiary totalled $429and
and it becamethe Ford Aerospace
end of 1968 Philco comPleted million. up | 4% on the I 966 total. Ford
Corporationrn Decem- At the
Communications
'fractor
Operationsreceivedgovernmen
installationin Thailandof a $ l00million
6er 1976.
communicationssystem specificallyde- ordersfor over 38,000M 151quarter-ton
makes signed to meet Thai military demands. military trucks during 1967, worth
ln war or in peacemilitary business
rnoney, but actual hostilities always Its maior use was to perform secretser- $l I I million. A further order in early
widen the market. In 1967 Business vices ior the American military, and to 1968for productionof the Army'sM-656
world- 5-ton cargotruck was worth $27million,
lleek ran an articleentitled'What Viet functionas part of the Pentagon's
Nam is Teaching Philco'. which begins wide defence communicationssystem. and was designedby the company's
'The company's contracts with the run by a combinationof speciallytrained Special Military Vehicles Operations.
A lot of changeshave been made since
Henry Ford I set out in a hired ocean
liner full of fellow pacifists to try and
stop the first World War. The second
World War demonstrated to the carmaken just how profitable the war
businessis, and they have not looked
back since.
4
Philco-Ford'sEducationaland Technical the products to foreign governments.
Ford Arms Salesto US Govemment
Services Division furnished,logistical Ford's military sales madJ directly to
Rank
Contracts % of sales
)'ear
support' to the US Narry'sactiviiies at foreign governmenls are controlled by
(in top 100) (mil fi)
Da Nang in South Vietnim at a price of licenses from the US Department of
1972 28
196.5
$ I gmillion.
1.0
State.'
1973 26
213.9
0.9
All in all, the Vietnam war proved to be ln 1976 it
becamepossibleto obtain 1 9 7 4 3 2
174.8
0.7
a very profitable enterprise for the Ford information publicly -for
the first time 1975 27
259.7
I .1
Motor Company - so much so that they about
companiesapplying for licenses 1976 27
2
8
5
.
4
1.0
felt it worth while supplying 5,00i) untler
the Foreign Military SalesAct. 'As the Carter Administration takes
civiliantechnicaladvisers.
There are 22 categorieson the US Muni- office on January 20, the Pentagon's
Ford's Defence and Space Sales have lions lisl. and companies apply lor weapons buyers will be setting out on
grownthroughoutthe 1970s:
Ilcensesby category.Companiesmay. tleir_biggestshoppingspreein-nearlya
but do not necessarily
in any givenyear. decade.Their pockets are jingting with
$mtllk,n
export itemsin thosecateqories.
ln 1975 more cash than they have seen since
197)
293
Ford filed its applicarion
.
! (Businesstteek t0.1.77)
Tor a five-year 1970
1973
369
registration.The applicationincludeda 'One reasonfor this 'very good news for
t974
261
list of Ford'smunitionslist manufactures the nation's defenceindustry' Business
1975
389
and/or exports:
Itleek reporred.is rhat DelenceDepart1976
431
menl
uullays for prtrcurement
Category
I
Firearms'
a.e rising
and
Components
ln 1974 Ford receiveda gg6million
b,,lh in constand
r o l i a r sa n d i n p e r c e n l
Category II
Guns
over
Caliber
.50
contractto build the worldwidenetwork
CategoryIII - Ammunition Componenrs t a g eo l s r u \ 5n r t i o n a lp r o d u c t a n d c r n
of ground terminalsfor the US Departand Parts be e:ipectedto continuerisinq;nto the
ment of Defence'ssecond generation
CategorylV
LaunchVehicles,Guided l q R O r . { n o t h e r r e a s . r ni s r h a l n e w
defencesatellitecomniunications
systenl.
procurementpoliciesarereducMissiles,
BallisticMissiles
and Pentagon
ln 1975 AeronutronicFord announced
lng
the
nsk
lor coniractors
andimproving
RocketsandComponents
for above
that it was developinga new guidance Category
VI - Gun-and Gun Sight prot'itsbr allo* ing companiesto- chargd
Systememploying laser bcams for air
Mounts and MissileSystems
for the sovernmenttor the cost of monev
defencesystems.as well as continuing
d tu bur ,'r leasepfuntandequiprneni'
Vessels
of WarandOtherSpecial u-ie
to produceguidanceand control systems
on th; Militarv
NavalEquipment l\ational Action Research
for Sidewinder
air to air ntissiles.
Category VII - Tanks and Mllirarv I n d u s t r r rCi .' m o l e xt .
Vehiclesand Specifically
Designed The Ford \totor Company makes large
By now Ford was the biggestproducer
Components amounts of monel' from armamentsand
ol communications
salellites
in the world.
In 1976 it announcedthat it had now Category VIII - Aircraft, Spacecraft at the same time strenethens
that inter-corporation
and Associated
Equipment dependence betueen
built a total of 39 Earth satellites,
had
and
installed54 rnajorsatelliteearthstations. Category IX - Military Training Equip- state \4hich is a gron'ingfeatureof multim e nt national delelopnrent. The scope for
and over 800 ground comnlunlcatrons
Category X - Military Body Armour p r ( ) l l t e c : l n: ngt h e: r r n st r r d ei s e n o r m o u s ,
terminalsworldwide.The strategic
advan.
tagesof theseshouidnot be ovirlookecl. Category Xl - Military and SpaceElec- especiallr*:rh ihe *illing partnership
of
l t o n i c s the Penragon,*hich is eager to sell
years
earlier
the
vice-president
of
]en
Category XII - Fire Control, Range Congress bigger rnd berter weapons
Philco-Ford'sCommunications
and ElecFinder,Guidanceand Control s)stems.\o.tne seentsto questionthe
tronicsDivisionhad said that he viewed
h u g e p r i . ' e - h r k e*sh i c h l e e o r n p a n yt h i s
earth terrninalsfor satellitesas .bridgc_
Xrrr Auxiliary
r"t,t"?i'Eil"1ll
headsfor developmentof modern te'ie_ category
t rade.TheSideriinderm isstle,
for instance.
ment,IncludingSpaceCarneras,has increasedrn price by 99Vobetween
communications
in more backwardsecSpeechScramblers
andCrypto- 1 9 7 5a n d 1 9 7 6 f. r o mS : 3 . 3 7 5r o $ 4 6 . 4 5 0 .
tionsof the world'.
graphicDevices
and Components. None of rhe market considerations
and
The 1976 Report and Accountsspelled
andArmour Plate
prrce constraintsthat bxist in the auto
out the increasingimportanceof the CategoryXVIII
TechnicalData
trade havean1'relevance
in the weapons
overseasarms market: 'The subsidiarv
l r a d c . N r r n t a r k e tc a p a c i t y .1 o i m p o r t
also producescertain defenceproducts The Council on Economic priorities.
an t h r e a t sn. o s t y l i n gh e a d a c h enso, e m i s s i o n
for the United Statesand othei sovern- American organisation which publishes
controls.no energypolicy constraints
menls. The products include iactical detailedinformationon the practices
of and a truly captivemarket. The taxpayer
and. air-d_efence
missile systems.Some U S c o r p o r a r i o npsr. i n r e da l i s i o f r h e U S keepstrn paying.
And besrof all, if ihe
o l t h e s a l e sa r e m a d ed i r e c t l yr o t h e U S DefenceDepartment'stop
100 contrac- product kills someone- the contract is
governmentwhich, in turn sellssomeof l o r s r n t t s A u g u s t
l Q 7 7 n e w s l e t t e r .probablvincreased.
42
The Gost of Dying
Ever wonder what your life is worth in dollars?Ford has it all worked out: $200,000
tioned ex-GM Ford executives getting nal "cost-benefitanalysis",which places
McNamarato switch gearsto an adver- a dollar valueon humanlife, saidit wasn't
tising campaign.that emphasizedstyling profitable to make the changessooner.
and performance rather than safety.
Mother Jones has studied hundreds of
". . . The auto industry'smost effective reDorts and documents on rear-end
'Ford sold safety
myth began to grow.
collisionsinvolving Pintos. Thesereports
In 1955, Robert McNamara,headof the while Chevy sold cars,' cracked the conclusivelyrevealthat if you ran into a
Ford Division, devised a sales strategy Detroit iron masters during the next Pinto you were following at over 30 miles
basedon safety featuresintroducedinto decade when safety advocatesurged the oer hour. the rear end of the car would
that year'smodels.GeneralMotors didn't auto manufacturen towards more crash- 6uckle like an accordion,right up to the
like that at all. The Ford advertisementsworthy vehicles." (Nader, Unsafe at back seat.The tube leadingto the gas-tank
conveyed the undiluted messagethat Any Speed,Secondedition).
cap would be ripped away from the tank
when their carswere involvedin crashes,
itself, and gas would immediately begin
In September 197'1, Mother Jones, an
the new safety featureswould diminish
sloshingonto the road around the car.
American consumer magazine, exposed
the owners' iniuries and would do so
The buckled gas tank would be jammed
the horrific exampleof the irreconcilable
more effectiveiy than their competitors'
up againstthe differential housing (that
conflict between profits and human life. big bulgein rhe middleof your rearaxJe).
cars.
"Although this particular story is about which contains four sharp, protruding
the Pinto, the way in which Ford made bolts likely to gashholes in the tank and
Safety Doesn't Sell
'At GM, cars were promoted as dream its decision is typical of the US auto spill still more gas. Now all you need is
industry generally.There are plenty of
boatsin order to sellmore carsfor shorter similar storiesabout other carsmade by a spark fiom a cigarette, ignition, or
scrapingmetal, and both cars would be
holding periods. Ford was taking the other companies."
engulfed in flames. If you gave that
romance out of cars, injecting collisions
- say at
and casualtiesand other unpleasantnessHere we reprint a slightly shortened Pinto a- really good whack
that its
are
excellent
40mph
chances
into the motorists' decisionabout which version:
jam
you
have to
and
would
doors
would
car to purchase.Should this continue, "By conservativeestimatesPinto crashes
GM saw the joy going out of owning an have caused 500 burn deathsto people stand by and watch its trappedpassengers
automobile, with the fear of crashes who would not have been seriously burn to death.
replacingthe hope of psychosexualgrati- injured if the carhadnot burstinto flames.
fication which their adsprojected.
The figure could be as high as 900. Lies
'.
and
came Buming Pintos have become such an This scenariois no newsto Ford. Intemal
. . CM executivesflipped
to Ford that its advertis- company documents in our possession
down hard on McNamara.He not only embarrassment
ing
J.
Walter
Thompson,dropped show that Ford hascrash-tested
agency,
the Pinto
was promoting safety to bolster the
saggingsalesof a model year that had a line from the end of a radio spot that at a top-secretsite more than 40 times
little else to offer, he appearedto be read "Pinto leavesyou with that warm and that every test made at over 25mph
feeling."
without special structural alteration of
genuinelyinterestedir1safety.
the car has resulted in a ruptured fuel
"The number-one auto giant was not Firetrap
tank. Despite this, Ford officials denied
without friends at high Ford Motor Ford knows the Pinto is a firetrap, yet it under oath havingcrash-tested
the Pinto.
Company levels.Ford's chairmanof the had paid out millions to settle damage
board, Emest Breech, was formerly suits out of court, and it is preparedto Eleven of thesetests,averaginga 31mph
GM's chief financialofficer; DaleHarder, spend millions more lobbying against impact speed,camebefore Pintos started
Ford's head of manufacturing,had had safety standards.With a half million cars rolling out of the factories. Only three
a similar position in GeneralMotors; and rolling off the assemblylines each year, cars passedthe test with unbroken fuel
Louis Crusoe, executive vice president Pinto is the biggest-selling
-placed
subcompactin tank. In one of them an inexpensive
of the car division,was formerly with the America, and the company's operating light-weight plastic baffle was
Cadillac division of General Motors. profit on the car is fantastic.Finally, in between the front of the gas tank and
These gentlemen understood the market 197'7, new Pinto models have incorpor- the differential housing, so those four
power of General Motors. The only
to bolts would not perforate the tank. In
ated a few minor alterationsnecessary
slightly exaggerated saying at Ford at meet that federalstandardFord managed another successfultest, a piece of steel
that time was that Chevy (Chevrolet to hold off for eight years.Why did the was placed between the tank and the
division) could drop its price $25 to company delay so long in making these bumper. In the third test car the gastank
waslined with a rubberbladder.But none
bankrupt Chryslerand $50 to bankrupt minimal,inexpensiveimprovements?
of theseprotectivealterationswasusedin
Ford. GM said stop and Ford literally
Pinto.
screechedto a halt. with the aforemen- Ford waited eight yearsbecauseits inter- the mass-oroduced
"Nobody's making a consumer buy
anything. He buys of his own free will.
Now, if we build a lousy car. he is getting
scrcwed.And we build lots of lousy cars,
no question about it; can't deny that."
(HenryFord, Aprrl17,1971)
43
W h y w a s a c a r k n o w n t o b c a s e r i o u sf l r e " S a l ' e t y d o e s n ' t s e l l ."
h a z a r dd e l i b e r a t e l yr e l e a s e dt o p r o d u c t r o n
B l r r n c f r rr a l l t h e i . n j u r i e rr n d d c e r l l si l
in August of 1970?
Like the Mustang. the Pirrto bccame P i n t u s s i n c c l q 7 0 d o e s n o l t e s t u n t l l r '
known in thc company as "Lee's car". shoulders of Lee Iacocca alone. For.
L e c I a c o c c a w a r t e d t h a t l i t t l e c a r i r r t h c w h i l e h e a n d h i s a s s o c i a t e sf c r u g h t t h e i r
battle againsta safer Pinto in Diarborn.
s h o w r o o l l l so f A m e r i c a w i t h t h e l 9 7 l
a l a r g e r w a r a g a i n s t s a f ' e rc a r s r a g e d i n
n r o d e l s .S o h e o r r l e r e d l t i s e n g i n c e r i n g
v i c e p r e s i d e n t ,B o b A l c x a n t l c r . t o o v e r s e c W a s h i n g t o n .
w h a t w a s p r o b a b l y t l l e s h o r t e s t p r o d u c - One skirntishin that war involvedFord's
t i o n p l a n n i n g p e r i o d i n m o d e r n a u t o m o - successlirl eight-year lobbying effort
tive history. The normal tinrc span frorl
against Federal Mtxor Vehicle Saf-e1
c o n c e p t i o n t o p r o d u c t i o n 0 f a n e w c a r S l a n t l r r JJ 0 l . t h e r e a r - e npdr o v i s i o nost
r n o d e l i s a b o u t 4 - l m o n t h s . T h c p i n t o which would haveforced Ford to redesign
s c h e d u l cw a s s e t a t j u s t u n d e t 2 _ 5 .
the Pinto.
neu oitlcials regulating auto safety.
,
B r i e i r s u m n r a r i z e d ,t h a t i d e o l o g y s t a t i s
that Jut() lccidents are caused nut bv
( . . r , . . b. r r h r l t p c o p l e a n t l 2 ) h i g h w a y
c on d i t i ! )n i .
Bcti,re rh.' F!\rd !'rperts Ieft Washington
t() rerum r, irtl'tlng tables in Dearbom
tlrer Jii !)ne ( rher thing. They managed
to intorr'tJll\ rcrch an agreementwith
t h e n l t i u r s u b l i i s c ' r v a n t sw h o w o u l d b e
n r a l u n g : u r . , s l i e t v d e c i s i o n s .T h i s a g r e e ntel]l \\as ih:l ";trst-benc1lt" would be
r n a e c e p t a b i en t o J e o f a n a l y s i sb y D e t r o i t
a n d i t s n e * r e g u l a t o r s .A n d . a s w e s h a l l
see..osr-be:letlt enalrsisquickly becanre
the b:srs or' Ford'i argunrent against
sater;lr,lestgn
D e s i g n ,s t y l i n g , p r o d u c t p l a n n i n g ,a d v a n c e
c n g i n c e r i n ga n d q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c ea l l h a v e
f l e x i b l c t i r n e f r r m e s . a n d e n g i n e c r sc a n Duringthe early 1960s.auto safetylegisEvc.r ri,tnier * h.ll r our life is worth in
of Anterican
p r e t t y n t u c h c a r r y t h e s e o n s i n l u l t a - lation becanrethe b€:te-ruire
d
ollars' Pe:nrp' Sl0million?Ford has a
The autoindustrywasthe
n e o u s l y . T o o l i n g , o n t h e o t h c r h a n d . h a s big business.
b
ette rJ.'r S:00.000.
great
last
unregulated
business,
and if lr
a fixed time frame o1 about l8 months.
N u r m a l l y . a n J U l i l e r r 6 p s n t , j , , a r n ' , couldn't reversethe tide of government R e m e n b e : . F . r ; h e d g o t t e n t h e f e d e r a l
b e g i n t o o l i n g u n t i l t h c ( ) l h e r p t u e e s s e s regulation,the reasouingwent. no one r e g u l d t . , r si ! , r i r e e t o t a l k a u t o S a f e t y i l l
are almost over. But lacocca's speed-up c o u l d .
ternrs ,r: .,rsi,Oenefit analysis. But in
meant Pinto tooling went on at the Pcople
who know him cannotremember o r d e r t t r : : , : l e t o a r g u e t h a t v a r i o u s
same time as product development. So
Henry Ford II taking a strongerstand s a t e t \ . . \ ! l ! \ \ . ; e g r e a t e rt h a n t h e i r b e n e when crash tests revealed a serious defect than theone
he took against
the regulation t l t s . F o r . : r e e i e i r o h a v e a d o l l a r v a l u e
i n t h e g a s t a n k , i t w a s t o o l a t e . T h e t o o l - of
figure t,,r lh.
henetlt". Rather than be
safety design.
ing was well under way.
so un.ouil', JS lo come up with such a
By 1965,most punditsand lobbyistssaw p r r c e I i g i t s e l : . t h e a u t o i n d u s t r y p r e s When it was discovered
the gastank was the handwritingon thc wall andprepared s u r e d t h e \ r r i o n r i
llighway Traffic
unsafe. did anyone go to lacocca and to acccptgovernment"meddling"in
the S a t e t \ A d n t L n i s r r a l i o nt o d o s o . A n d i n a
tell him? "Hell no," repliedan engineer lg_st_
bastionof free enterprise.Not Henry. l 9 7 l r e p L r r rr h e a s e n c v d e c i d e d a h u m a n
who worked on the Pinto, a high com- With bulldog tenacity,he held out for l i f e * a s \ { o : r h
S100.725. Inflationary
pany official for many years,who, unlike defeat of thc lcgislationto the very end,
iorces have re.enrl\ pushedthe figureup
several others at Ford, maintains a loyalto his grandfather's
inventionandto t o S 1 i 6 . 0 0 0
BulldogHenry
necessarily
clandestineconcernfor safety.
"That person would have been fired.
Safety wasn't a popular subject around
Ford in those days. With lee it was
taboo."
the companythat rnakes
it. But the Safety
Act passedthe House of Senateunani- $ 1 1 T o o D e a r
mously, and was signed into law by
Furnisheduirh rhis useful tool, Ford
LyndonJohnsonin 1966.
immediatell \\'enr to $ork using it to
While lobbying for and againstlegislation prove rvhr rarious satetl improvements
Heighteningthe anti-safetypressureon ls pretty much a processof high-level wereIoo exp€nsr!'e
to make.
Pinto engineerswas an important goal back-slapping, press-confe
rencing and Nowhere
did
the companyargueharder
set by lacoccaknown as "the limits of speech-making, fighting a regulatory
2O00". The Pinto was not to weigh an agency is a much subtler matter. Henry that it should make no changesthan in
ounce ovcr 2,000 pounds and not to hcldctlhometo lick his wountlsin Grossi the area of rupture-pronefuel tanks.
Not lons after the governmentarrived
cost a centover$2,000."lacoccaenfcrrced Pr-rinte.
Michigan.and a planeltrad
,rf the
theselirnits with an iron hand," recalls Ftrrd Motor Company'sbest brains flew at the Sl00.7l5.perJife figure, it surthe engineerquoted carlier. So, even to Washingtonto start the "education" faced.roundedolT to a cleaner$200,000,
when a crash test showedthat that one- of the new federalauto safetybureaucrats. in an internal Ford memorandum.This
cost-benefitanalysisargued that Ford
pound,onedollarpieceof plasticstopped
shouldnot ntakean $l I -per-car
improvethe puncture of the gas tank, it was
ment
that would prevent180fiery dcaths
Price
of
a
Life
thrown out asextra cost and extra weight.
Their job was to implant the official a year.
As Lee lacocca was fond of saying, industry ideokrgy in the minds ol the
Ali Ford had to do wasconvincemen like
44
)
'qe
\!;'tu'
;-!.-
$
.l"iis
.
: -;5- .t -rl:_
John Volpe, ClaudeBrinegarandWilliam
Coleman(successive
Secretaries
of Transportation during the Nixon-Ford years)
that certain safety standardswould add
so much to the price of cars that fewer
people would buy them. This could
damagethe auto industry,which wasstill
believedto be the bulwark of the American economy. "Compliance to these
standards,"Henry Ford II prophesiedat
more tlan one press conference,"will
shut down the industry."
Standard 301 way back in 1968 with a
strong attack of techniqueb). Fire, they
said,was not the real problem.Sure,cars
catch fire and people bum occasionally.
But statistically a.uto fires are such a
minor problemthat NHTSA shouldreally
concernitself with other matters.
Strangeas it may seem,the Department
of Transportation (NHTSA's parent
agency)didn't know whether or not this
was true. So it contracted with several
independent research groups to study
So when J.C. Echold, Director of Auto- auto fires. The studies took months.
motive Safety (which means chief anti- which wasjust what Ford wanted.
safety lobbyist) for Ford wrote to the
Department ofTransportation
which The completedstudies,however,showed
auto fires to be more of a problem than
he still does frequently,at greatlength he felt secureattachinga memorandum Transportationofficiais ever dreamedof.
a Washingthat in effect saysit is acceptableto kill Robert Nathanand Associates,
180 peopleand bum another 180 every ton researchfirm, found that 400,000
year,eventhough we havethe technology carswere buming up every year, buming
that could savetheir lives for $11 a car. more than 3,000 people to death. Furthermore, auto fires were increasingfive
There are severalmain techniquesin the
times as fast as building fires. Another
art of combating a governrnentsafety study
showedthat 35 per cent of all fire
standard: a) make your argumentsin deathsin the US occurredin automobiles.
succession,
so the fedscan be working on
disprovingonly one at a time; b) claim Another study was done by the Highway
that the real problem is not X bur Y (we Traffic ResearchInstitute in Ann Arbor,
already saw one instanceof this in "the Michigan, a safety think-tank funded
problem is not cars but people"); c) no primarily by the auto industry (the givematter how ridiculouseach argumentis, away thereis the words "highway traffic"
accompany it with thousandsof pages rather than "automobile" in the group's
of highly technicalassertionsit will take name).f t concludedthat 40% of the lives
the govemment months or, preferably, lost in fuel-fed fires could be savedif
years to test. Ford's large and active the manufacturerscomplied with proWashington office brought these tech- posed Standard 301. Finally, a third
niques to new heights and becamethe report was preparedfor NHTSA by conenvy of the lobbyists'trade.
sultantEugeneTriskoentitled"A National
Survey of Motor Vehicle Fires". His
Fiery Death
report indicates that the Ford Motor
The Ford people started arguingagainst Companv makes 24% of the cars on the
Americanroad,yet thesecarsaccountfor
42% of the collision-rupturedfuel tanla.
Ford lobbyists then usedtechniquea)
bringing up a new argument. Their line
then became;yes, perhapsburn accidents
do happen, but rear-endcollisions are
relatively rare (note the echo of technique
b) here as well). Thus Standard301 was
not needed.This set the NHTSA off on a
new round of analyzingaccidentreports.
The government's findings finally were
that rear-end collisions were sevenand a
half times more likely to result in fuel
soills than were front-end collissions.So
much for that argument.
ThousandsBum
By now rt was 1972; NHTSA had been
researchingand analyzing for four years
to answerFord's objections.During that
time, nearly 9,000 people bumed to
deathin flamingwrecks.Tensof thousands
more were badly burned and scarredfor
life. And the'four-yeardelay meant that
well over l0million new unsafevehicles
went on the road, vehiclesthat will be
crashing, leaking fuel and incinerating
peoplewell into the 1980s.
Ford now had to enter its third round of
battling the new regulations. On the
"the problem is not X but Y" principle,
the company had to look around for
somethingnew to get itself off the hook.
One might have thought that, faced with
all the latest statisticson the horrifying
number of deaths in flaming accidents,
Ford would find the task difficult. But
the company's rhetoric was brilliant.
The problem was not bums, but
impact! Most of the peoplekilled in these
fiery accidents,claimedFord, would have
45
Fo
ThebePtt
tx}
t
died whetherthe carbumedor not. They
were killed by the kinetic force of the
impact,not the fire.
And so once again, as in some giant
underwatertennisgame,the ball bounced
into the government's court and the
absurdly pro-industry NHTSA began
another slow-motion response. Once
round of
againit begana time-consuming
test crashesand embarkedon a study of
accidents.The latter, however, revealed
that a large and growing number of
taken from bumed carsinvolved
coroses
-rear-end
crashescontained no cuts.
in
bruises or broken bones. They clearly
would have survtved the accident unharmed if the cars had not caught fire.
This pattern was confirmed in careful
rear-end crash tests performed by the
InsuranceInstitute for Highway Safety.
A University of Miami study found an
inordinatenumber of Pintosburning on
rear-endimpact and concludedthat this
demonstrated"a clearand presenthazard
to all Pintoowners".
:. li\r.lltnr
r11rrrrt''
]9 lli;...
t1"' t: - t ,'
Delays
Pressureon NHTSA from Ralph Nader
and consumer groups began mounting.
collusion was so
The industry-agency
obvious that Senator Joseph Montoya
(D-NM) introduced legislation about
Standard301. NHTSA waffledsomemore
and again announced its intentions to
promulgatea rear-endcollisionstandard. three million profitable, dangerously than bureau.racies.
a fact that givesone
Waiting, as it normally does, until the incendiary Pintos. To justify this delay, confiden.e Ln democracy.Juries began
last day allowed for response,Ford filed Henry Ford II called nlore press con- ruling agatnst the company, granting
with NHTSA a gargantuan batch of ferencesto predictthe demiseof American million-lollar a,*ardsto plaintiffs.
letters, studies and charts now arguing civilization. "lf we can't meet the stan- "We'li never go Io a jury again," saysAl
they are published," he
that the federal testing criteria were dards when
'\ve
Washington office.
will have to close down. Slechter iri Ford's
unfair. Ford also argued that design warned,
"Not
Juriesare just too
a
Ilre
n
case.
changesrequired to meet the standard And if we have to closedown someoro- sentimental. Thel see those charred
we don't meetstandards
like ductionbecause
would take43 months,which seemed
we're
in
for
real
trouble in this country." remainsand torget the evidence.No sir,
a rather long time in light of the fact that
w e ' l ls e t t l e . "
the entire Pinto was designedin about
Settlemenrinvoheslesscash,smallerlegal
two years.
Out of Court
feesand lesspublicitl, but it is an indicaSomeof thesecomplaintswere accepted, When the Pinto liability suitsbegan,Ford tion of the seaknessof their case.Neverothers rejected. But they all required strategywas to go to a jury. Confidentit theless.Ford hasbeensettlingwhen it is
examinationand testingby a weak-kneed could hide the Pinto crash tests. Ford clear that the company can't pin the
NHTSA, meaning more of those I 8- thought that juries of solid American blameon the driverof the othercar.
month studiesthe industry lovesso much. registeredvoters would buy the industry
So the complaintsservedtheir real pur- doctrine that drivers, not cars, cause Until recently,it was clear that, whatpose delay;alltold, an eight-year
delay, accidents.It didn't work. It seemsthat ever the cost of thesesettlements,it was
while Ford manufactured more than iuries are much ouicker to seethe truth not enough to seriously cut into the
F0RD "lir*rrir.'l'
Pinto's enormousprofits. The cost of retooling Pinto assembly lines and of
:quipping each car with a safety gadget
like that $5.08 Goodyearbladderwas,
JOmpany accounts calculated, greater
rhan that of paying out millions to
survivors like Robbie Carlton or to
widows and widowers of victims like
SandraGillespie.The bottorn line ruled,
and inflammablePintos kept rolling out
of the factories.
recently passeda rear-endcrash test in
Phoenix. Arizona. for NHTSA. The
agencywas so corryincedthe Pinto would
fail that it was the llrst car tested.Amazingly, it did not burst into flame.
"We have had so many Ford failuresin
the past," explainedagencyengineerTom
Grubbs,"l felt surethe Pinto would fail."
ted the gas tank from being perforated
by those four bolts on the differentia
housing.
We askedGrubbs if he noticed any othcr
substantial alterations in the rear-en
structureof the car. "No," he replied
"the Iplasticbaffle] seemsto be the only
noticeablechangeovcr the 1976model."
But was it? What Tom Grubbsand the
Departrnent of Transportationdidn't
that onedollar, one-pound know when they testedthe car was that
ln 1977, however,an incredibly sluggish Remember
plastic
baffle
that wason one of the three it was manufacturedin St Thomas
governmenthad at lastinstitutedStandard
of that
Pintos
that passed the pre- Ontario.Ontario?The significance
modified
301. Now Pintoswill haveto haveruptureten years becomes
clearwhenyou learnthat Canad
production
nearly
tests
crash
proof gastanks.Or will they?
ago?Well, it is a standardfeatureon the has for years had extremely strict rear
To everyone'ssurprise,the 1977 Pinto 1977Pinto. In the Phoenixtest it protec- end collisionstandards.
The Airbag Fix
Airbags, which inflate instantaneously insidea car if that car hits
anythingarepotentiallythe greatest
life saveryet devised.
However,accordingto Ford, airbags
will add anywhere frorn $100 to
;H00 to the cost of everyauto. The
probablycorrectly,
companyarg.res,
that the auto buyers would prefer
to pay lessand take their chances.
But the vehemently anti-airbag
Ford wasn't willing to take its
chances with the Department of
Transportation even when it was
loaded with pro-auto Republicans.
So Ford introduceda cralty little
systemcalledthe ignition interlock.
The ignition interlock will not
allow a driver to start the car until
the front seatpassengers
arebuckled
up. The ignition interlock was a
sensiblecompromise.
The rationale
was that if drivers were forced
to useseatbeltstherewould be no
need for airbags. which is true
enough.In late 1970, Henry Ford
II sold Chrysler president Lynn
Townsendon the ideaandconvinced
him they could sell it together
in Washington.
A Nixon aide set up a meeting
betweenFord, Chrysler'sTownsend
and Nixon to discuss "matters
relatedto the automotiveindustry".
How Did it Fass
A few days after the meeting,
John Ehrlichman called a meeting
with TransportationSecretaryJohn
Volpe. After the meetingVolpe was
heard to remark "The airbag'sin
trouble."Soonafter,HenryFord II
contributednearly $50,000towards
ion campaign.
Nixon'sre-elect
After mury of the delays that
auto-makerslove, on August i 5,
l9 73,Department
o f Transportation
officials finally issueda new regulation requiringignition interlocks
on all new cars.Therewasnow no
need for airbags,so they dropped
lrom the picture. During tllis
two-yeardelay,however.Congress
memberLouisWyman(R-NH) was
preparing an amendnlent to the
Motor Vehicle and School Bus
Safety Act ol 1974 . which said,
"Federal saf'ety standards may
not require that any vehiclesbe
equippedwith a safetybelt interlock system."Sonre[{i]1stal'lerssay
Ford actually wrote the amendment. With a well-timedpush from
auto lobbyists, the amendment
passed.The airbagand the ignition
interlock were now both dead,
victimsof oneof the most brilliantly
executeddouble fixesin the history
of lobbying.
Now that airbagsare back on the
agenda again, keep your eye on
Ford.
Whetherthe new AmericanPinto fails or
passesthe test, Standard30i will neve
force the company to test or recall the
more than two million pre-1977Pinto
still on the highway. Seventy or more
people will bum to death in those cars
every ycar for many years to come."
A tiny itenr in Automotive /y'ews on
August 22nd 1977 reportedthat Ford
Motor is recalling642 1977Pintomodel
for inspectionof two nuts in the rea
burnper assembly."lncorrect nuts may
oftheir mountin
havebeenused.Because
position,they could cut the fuel tank in
collision,Ford said."
a rear-end
A fortnight later the samepaperfeature
Ford's "refutation" of the Mother Jone
article. The n'rain item appearsto be
that "thereis no proo
Ford's declaration
to substantiatethese claims", althoug
ofstatisticsdesigne
there arealsornasses
to show "that the'Pinto is free of the
defects ascribedto it by
safety-related
Mother Jones". No specific evidenceis
givento counterthe article.
Since the passageof the Motor Vehicle
SafetyAct in 1966.therehavebeenmore
than 50 million cars recalledin almos
2000 recall campaigns.Ford itself re
called l.3million vehiclesin 42 separa
campaigns in the United States, and
657.000 vehiclesin 23 campaignsin
Europe- all in the oneyear 1976.Give
how hard the company fights to avoid
recalls,the true extent of profitable but
lethal car-buildingremainshidden.
4
FordandtheThirdWbrld
Ford's intervention in the Third World, far from transforming economies by utilising potential for
development,exploits and reinforcesexisting situations for its own profit.
Ford, like othermultinationalcompanies, imports, helping to solve the chronic
has to continually seek new markets deficit in their balance of payments.
and developold ones.By the mid-sixties, Though the details.varied
from counlry
the American market was no longer a to country, in general the developing
growth area for motor manufactirers, nations tried to create these import
and the US motor industry turned its substitutionindustries,protectingthem
attentionto the development
of markets behind high tariff barriers,and strictly
in Europeand the Third World.
controlling the use of foreign exchange.
International Monetary Fund, the las
resort of Third Wortd governmentsneed
ing loansto financetradedeficits,oppose
exchangecontrols and restrictionson the
flow of capital with increasingfirmnes
Loans were made conditionalon the dis
mantling of tariffs and foreign exchang
regulations.
Fordhasoperations
in numerouscountries The First National City Bank of Manila Cuaderno. govemor of the Philippine
of South EastAsia: South Korea; Taiwan; describesthe effects of typical measures Central Bank, describesan applicatio
Thailand;Malaysia;
Singapore
; Indonesia; in the Philippines between 1950 and for a loan madein 1958,neededto mee
and the Philippines.Theseoperationsare 1962. 'The exchangecontrol system set a deficit in the balanceof payments.As
controlled from Ford in Australia. and in motion a radical alteration of the part of rhe stabilisation
planhe put before
are closely tied in with the supply of country's economicstructure.Stimulated the IMF. a 25% tax on the saleof foreig
componentsto the Australianand New by an effective barrier against foreign currenc) was proposed.The IMF how
Zealandfactories.In Latin America,the products and by preferential accessto ever \r'asdeterminedthat the loan would
company has manufacturingcapacity in foreign exchange . an entire spectrum be conditional on the removal of al
Mexico,Brazil,Venezuela,
Uruguay,and of new.or expandedlocal industriescame lbreign erchange controls, and a de
Argentina.
valuation of the Peso. Cuaderno com
lnto extstence.
'We had a
ments:
feeling that this was
Ford was already establishedin these
what the US govemmentofhcials would
areas, having manufactured in Latin IMF Rules OK?
America,for instance,since the 1920s. The rnultinational companiescould get like us to do.' On that occasion the
However, in the 1960sit was facing in- round the tariff barriersby establishing pressure*as resisted,but later on this
creasingcompetition from relativelynew manufacturingor assemblyplants within u'asnot possible.
Japanese
competitors,and the expanding the country, but they could not get As * ell as pressurefrom the IMF on
Europeanmultinationals.
Ford neededto around the governmentcontrol of foreign .urrenc\ controls,organisations
like the
developits productionin the Third World, exchange.The expansionof their oper- World Bank. the Inter American Deve
and take maximumeconomicadvantase ations was limited to a certain extent. lopment Bank and the Agencyfor Inter
o I v e r y s m a l l n a t i o n a ln r a r k e r sT
. h e and more impor{antly,their ability to nalionalDevelopment
werebusypromot
Philippines,for example, when Ford repatriateprofits was severelycurtailed. ing r.'gional trade areas based on the
openeda plant in 1967, accountedfor Also, the tariffs prevented the multi- EuropeanCommon Market.In 1960 the
just 0.24 per cent of the world market. nationalsfrom expanding
productionand Latin AmericanFree Trade Associatio
rationalising
it for a largerregionalmar- $as iounded.andin 1966the Associatio
The key to Ford'sstrategyis complemen- ket. thus gainingeconomies
of scale.For oi South EastAsranNationswasformed
tation.Thisis a planfor eachcountryin a the
multinationalsto organisethe Third The theory behrndsuch trade areaswas
regionto specialise
in the productionof World countriesinto productionbases.
that as rariifs were abolished.large
particularcomponents,and then by exand integrateindividualcountriesinto m 3 r k e t si , , r r n d u s r r i aplr o d u c l sw o u l d - b
changingthemassemble
a completecar in regional markets for their
output, the created.It rias arguedfor example,tha
variouscountries.Theseimports would
restrictionson free trade had to be the .reirion of the L-atinAmericanFree
be treated as local products,and the clearedaway.
Trade Area u rruld halvethe amount of
theory is that each country exports as
much as it irnports."To thoseof us at This did not take long. The policiesof iorergner;hangeneededfor investmen
Ford, it is a fancy word for inter-regional ilnport substitution,though developing ii industrrescould be planned for the
free trade in motor vehiclesand com- localinduslry,couldnot solvethe balance e n n r er e g l o n .
ponents."(Henry Ford [I) The company ol paymentsproblem.The expansionof
gainsby avoidingduplicationof tooling industry scrved to increaseimports of RepatriatingProfits
the
costs,and achievinglower unit costsvia industrial materials and semi-finishcdRatlier than irrport substitution,
'export oriente
highcrvolumcprodr.lction.
productsto be fed into local industries. drive was now on fbr
r n d u s t r i a l i s a t i uTnh. e e r ) ulnr i e s c o n
Ford faced. however. other ploblems and eventuallyinrportsbeganto exceed cernedwere supposedto aid the proces
the valuesavedby domesticproduction.
besidesthe small sizeand diversenature
ion by promoting free
a waveof grorvingtrade of industrialisat
of the car marketsin the Third World. In the rnid-1960s
trade and concentratingcm industria
deficits
spread
around
the
Third
World.
D u r i n gt h e 1 9 5 0 sa n d e a r l y 1 9 6 0 sm
, ost
productionofgoodsfor the world market
Third World countrieswere attempting At this time. a number of international bringing in foieign exchange.lmplicit
to build industriesthat would produce agencies
beganthe processof remoulding in this is thc need to encourageforeign
goodsfor the domesticmarketandlessen the Third World's trade policies.The investment
to providethe factories
capabl
48
,i competingeconomically
on the world
narkets. So Third World governments
'oegan
to legislatefor the protection of
ioreign investmentand its right to repatriateprofits.
]1.;
A year after the creation of the Asso.:iation of South East Asian Nations
t ASEAN) in 1966, Ford opened its
and in
assemblyplant in the Philippines,
1969the first of the Investment
Incentive
Under
Acts waspassedin the Philippines.
the joint pressures
of the IMF and the
various internationalaid agencies,the
Third World was gradually being transformed for the benefit of multinationals.
Ford was well preparedto take advantage
and the way they have
of thesechanges,
trperated within ASEAN shows how
rnultinationals
have usedthe new oppor"
Iunitiesoffered.In 1971.Henry Fordhad
talks with governmentleadersfrorr nine
Asia Pacillccountries.He rnadeit quite
ciear that'complerrrentationholds far
more promise for the region than adherenceto old style purchasing,
assembly
and manufacturingmethods.'(Ford; A
Global Corporation
Ford publica t i o n ,19 7 3 )
Asian Cars
Attemptshad been made in the past to
ireate an integrated car industry in
South East Asia. either within ASEAN
or an enlarged area including Japan,
Australiaand New Zealand.Little had
r,
been done to implementthis howeve
decidedto pushaheacl
andthe Philippines
Popperloto
alone - in fact to pre-empt any such Ferdinand and Imeldo Marcos, Philippint,s
moves. In May l97l they announced
be domestically
rnanuf'actured.
The Philipt! ran$
Protheir Progressive
Car Manufacturing
pines governmentwas looking for a
gram.me.This is a schemeto encourage pation of' three motor companies,and minimum domestic content ratio of
companieswould have 35% by the third and final year of the
car manufacturersto produce in the the unsuccessful
by threatening
exclusionfrom to leave the Philippines.There were Programme.
Philippines
the market of those companiesthat severalcriteria for decidingwho would I
of a
would not comply with government eventuallybe allowedto participatein Ford's plan was the.establishment
criteriaon local content and so on. Car the ProgressiveCar ManufacturingPro- body stampingplant at Marivelesin the
assemblershad to submit their plans gramme.Theseincludedthe contribution planned Free Trade Zone. Free Trade
by January 1912, and despite the fact the companieswould make to ASEAN Zones are industrialestateswhere land,
that this schemedid not yet haveASEAN car production, to the expansionof factories,electricity and other services
in the Philippines,
and to are furnishedby the host government
approval,all the car companiesin the manufacturing
the transfer of technologyto Filipino and cornplete freedom is granted from
rreasubmittedplansfcrr approval.
engineering.
Most important of all was tariff restrictions
or import duties.Direct
At first the Philippinesgovernmentsaid the proportion of the final assembledincentives like tax concessionsand
that therewas only room for the partici- vehiclessold in the Philippinesthat would investmentgrantsare also offered by the
49
host governments,and make Free Trade 5O%. As for an integrated ASEAN car a sub-groupof LAFTA was set up, called
Zones highly attractiveto foreign invest- industry. the stampingplant is integrated the Andean Pact, which excluded the
ment.
only ai far as Ford's"ownoperauonsare big three: Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
concerned.Although the Car ManufacturFree Trade Zones,like free trade areas,
ing Programme'sguidelinesrecommend The Andean Pact countries adopted a
are beingheavilypromotedby an interthe production of componentsthat can much firmer positionon the questionof
national agency,this time the United
be usedby more than one manufacturer,foreign investment.calling tbr a gradual
NationsIndustrialDevelopmentOrganiscar bodiesare of courserestrictedin use transitionto local ownership.and imposation (UNIDO). Founded in 1967 to to the
particularmodels. ing limits on the amount of profit that
rnanufacturers'
promote the industrialisationof developcompanies.
The Ford stampingplant doessupplyto c o u l db e r e p a t r i a t ebdy i o r e i g n
ing countries,UNIDO providesassistanceother Ford
the
stringent
regulations,
Peru
had
most
factorieswithin ASEAN, but
in the establishment
of FreeTradeZones also
sendsCortinabodiesto Australiaand demandingan immediate507 stakein ali
in the form of preliminary surveys,
other Asiancountriesoutsideof ASEAN, foreign investments. Ford. which has
feasability studies, and many other
as well as body panelsto Dagenhamin alwaystried to insist on 100%ownership
servicesshort of actually operatingthe
the UK. A body plant makesvery little of its subsidiaries,withdrerv from Peru
Zone. UNIDO is assisted
by the Shannon
contributionto the growthof technology b y 1 9 7 0 .
FreeAirport Developmen
t Co Ltd and by
and unlike an engineplant, for example, In Chile, Ford respondedto the 1970
the ubiquitousWorld Bank. Free Trade
cannot be utilisedin the develooment
of election of Allende's Popular Unity
Zonesare supposed
to aid the promotion
.
other
industriesgovernment
rrna programme
by embarking
of exports,the creationof job opportuMore than
nities,and the transferof technologyto Finally it should be rememberedthat of economicdestabilisatiern.
the Third World. Accordingto UNIDO complementation,as it was so ener- 60% of the countrl"s pubLtc transport
there are currently over 30 developing getically sold by Henry Ford, was sup- systemran on Ford rehi;les.and Ford
nationswith plansfor FreeTradeZones posedto help accumulateforeignexchange alsohad about35%of the ;ar market.All
in their territories.
by replacing imports with domestic these vehicles.particul3rl) the public
products. In reality the ProgressiveCar transport buses. depended on spare
ManufacturingPlan spendsthe region's parts suppliedby Ford. BeioreAllende's
PhilippinesPlant
scarce fbreign exchange on the car election, Ford imporrei appoximately
Ford's commitment to the Free Trade industry, which is given preferential $ 1 5 6 , 0 0 0w o r t h o i s p a r eD 3 r l si n t o C h i l e
Zone at Marivelesin the Phiilppines
was foreign exchange guarantees,without each month. Immedrateir:iter the elecIarge,and its investmentof 244 million accumulating any surplus foreign ex- t i o n , t h i s s u p p l yw a s . : u ri . l u s t 3 1 5 . 0 0 0
was
Pesos, ll Smillion, was important in changein return. Ford's intervention in worth a month. Credii r., ;ir dealers
d.
encouraging
other manufacturers
to par- the Philippines, far from transforming alsoslashe
ticipate in the Zone. This promised the economy by utilising its potentialfor The resultwas that the rutlic lransport
investmentwas instrumentalin buying development,exploits and reinforcesthe system was thro\r'n in1., lotal chaos.
Ford's way into the Car Manufacturing existingsituation for its own profit. Ford The Ford factoq' *:s taken over, but
Prograrnme.
Whenthe variousplanswere has to make cars to make monev. and without componentst:,,nr other Ford
assessed,
Ford only came fourth in the h l s l o r r r l k e t h c m s o m c w h e r eT. h e factoriesit was piacricalh useless.
The
scorillg systern,and should havc been inlerestsof thc local worklitrcc or the Chilean economy. ri hi.'h Ford helped
excludedalongwith Renrult and Nissan. host econontydo not er'tterthis decision. to wreck. is in pieces.Frar.strll operatH o w e v c r .t h c g o v c l n l r e n td e c i d e dt o Ford'splansrn [-atinArnericagiveample inq there. has seen iis ntonthly sales
inclrrtle Ford nonetheless.Thc twL) c n d c n c eo f t h a t .
declinefrom 1000 c:rs J month to 100.
reasonsgiven wefe tl)e Marivalesinvcstn r e n ta n d t l l e l a c t t h a t F t l r d h a d c a r n e d
Thatiefi Fordoperatrne
onlv in Venezuela
The Wreckers
t n ( , . . p1 ' ) i t ' t j l , , r i t ' e o n t r i h u l l ( )I n
r, Jn
J n r o n g s lt h e A n d e r n P , - t . , , u n t f i e s .
i n t e g r ; r t eAdS L A Nc a l i n d u s t r yt.h r n k st o T h e t o L r n d i n g m e e t i n g o f t h e L a t i n There it manufacturedF:rlctrnand Farre r i s t i n { rF - o r d p i a n t s i n o t h c r A S L A N A r n e r i c a n F r e c T r a d e A r e a ( L A F T A ) lane nrodels irom furerica. and the
c o u n t r i e sT. h e o u t c o m cw e st h e o p e n i n g c o n s i s t e do f A r g e n t i n a , B r a z i l . M e x i c o . Taunusfrom German\'.
o 1 ' t l r eF o r d b o d y s t a n t p i npgl a n tr n F e b , B o l i v i a . C h i l c . C o l u n r b i a . E c u a d o r , P a r . a The AndeanPactcontinuedto discuss
the
r u a r y I 9 7 6 b y I n r e l d aM a r c o s r. v i l e o f g u a l ' . P e r u . U r u g u a y a n d V e n c z u e l a . A t
t h e t i m e . F o r d h l d f a c t o r i e si n M e x i c o , viability of an integraledcar production
the President
of the Philippines.
( ' h i l e , B r a z i l . A r g e n t i n a . V e n e z u e i a a n d plan.but wrth the PacrcountriessupportT h i s p l a i l t . i i l l a c t . c o n l r i h u l e lsi t t l e t o P e r u . T h e p l a n r v a s t o c r e a l e a f l e c t r a d c ing l.{ plantsproducing1,10modelsfor a
the Philippincsee()nomy.Even at its a r c a b y 1 9 7 3 , b u t a c o n f l i c t o i i n t e r e s t s marketno largerthan Florida's,achieving
ruraxiurum
outpul o1 70.000bodiesa year e n l c r g e d b e t w e e n t h e n a t i o n s c o n c c r n e d agreementon such a plan was not easy.
i t e r r r p l tsr lt r n l l 7 0 0w , ) t k e r s i n I t U u n - b c c r u s c o f t h c d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e i r s i z e s Many of the factories
would haveto close
try with an unemploynrcnt
rateof around a n d d e g r c e so l i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n .I n 1 9 6 9 , and many of the modelsphaseout, and
50
was simplified, laws governingthe repatriation of profits were revoked, trade
unions were declared illegal, and the
torture of political and trade union
activistsbecamecommonplace.
tt .\ '
_-
older in Aryentina
Ke y stone
But the growth of the Brazilianeconomy
has been entirely dependant on foreign
capital, and the more dependant the
economy becomes on multinational investment and finance, the more profits
and interest are repatriated.The Brazilian
motor industry is over 90% owned by
multinationalslike Volkswagen,Ford and
General Motors. The more successful
these subsidiariesbecome, the more
profits are remitted back to the parent
country - in hard currency.Volkswagen,
for example,is the largestcar manufacturer in Brazil, and the largestexporter
from Brazil.In the ten yearsfrom 1965
to 1975, it investeda total of $l 19.5million . and $72.Smillionwere reinvested
out of profits generated.But in the same
ten years, $Tomillion were remitted
directly back to Germany, and no less
than $208.5million were paid to the
parent company for licencesand technology. In all, a total of $279.lmillion
were sent back to Germany a net outflow of ffi6.8million.
The country most often cited to demon'progress'
strate this
is Brazil, which has
grown remarkablyrapidly in recentyears.
Between1968 and 1974.GrossNational
competitionbetweenthe statesto protect
grew at an annual rate of l0%.
their own interestswasintense.However, Product
For Ford, Brazilbecamethe most imporeventuallya plan was worked out, whlch
tant market outside North America after
doesnot dependon componentmanufacGermany and Britain. In 1967, total
ture at all. It allocatesthe manufacture
Ford factory salesin Brazil were 32,000.
of vehiclesof different enginesize cateBy the peak year of 1974, they had
gories to different countries, and this
reached 177.700. and in 1976 stood at
arrangement
was finally agreedand signed 169,000
carsandtrucks.
The Braziliangovernmentallowsall plant
in September1977.The allocationof cars
above 1500cc goes to Venezuela the The Brazilian boom depended quite and machinery to be included in the
only country in the Andean pact where largely on the motor industry. The capitalvaluationior the purposeof profit
- in reality the machinery
Ford produces cars, all of which are in demand for components,steel,glassand remittance
Volkswagen
installed in Brazil was
this range. It seemsan incredible coin, other inputs, and the concomitant
cidencethat Henry Ford was in Caracas growth of roads, shopping centres and obsolete plant shipped from Germany.
at the time of the signing, and he an- cement production, as well as the rapid The GeneralMbtors subsidiaryin Brazil
nounced big expansion plans for the growth of the petrochemicalindustry,all has an investmentvalued at $38million,
Venezuelanfactories, worth S84million. contributedto the economicexoansion. and an enormousdebt back into the US
The big three US- manufacturershave The backdropto this 'miracle'hasbeena of $200million some one per cent of
each submitted plans for an 8 cylinder changeof policy concerningtradebarriers the entire foreign debt at the time it was
engine plant in Venezuela,in a bid to and exchangecontrolssimilarto that of incurred.
participatein the Andean Pactplans,and other Third World countries. The last
doubtless Ford's announcedinvestment stageof an attemptto reacha nationalist Ford hasa longtermdebtof $84.6million,
plansdependson its bid beingaccepted. solutionto the problemsof dependancy which must be repaid at between 6/z
was the Goulart regime,which embarked and 1tA per cent, irrespectiveof remitFord publicity claims that 'for host
on a massive programme of land re- tancesof profits or paymentsfor licences
countries multinational companies are
distribution,nationalisationand so on. and technology. However much the
a powerful engine for growth, especially
This cameto an abrupt end in I 964 with motor companiesincreasetheir output,
in developingnations as foreign governa miiitary coup, headed by General or their Brazilianexports, the profits will
ment aid tapers off. Multinational comeventually be repatriated to the US, or
Branco.
paniesinvestcapital,createjobs,introduce
Europe or Japan. All these debts are
technologicalimprovements. . . in short He rapidly realignedBrazilianeconomic denominated in dollars, so they are
. . . they are a positive force for economic policy in the interestsof international insured against the devaluationsof the
progress.'(Ford: A Global Corporation) capitalism.The foreign exchangesystem Brazilian currency brought about by
5l
Brazil's raging inflation, and continue to ln 1976. 3.900 Brazilianworkerspaid forming an arm) oi relarivelyskilled but
drain Brazil's foreign exchangeearnings. with their livesin industrialaccidents
casuallaboui.
the
highest
rate
of
industrial
fatalities
in
The viciouscircle ofbalanceofpavments
Ford has its o*n srorl to tell about the
deficits leading to foreign loans. and the world. lt is commonplacethat for Fundo GarantiaTempo Servico.ln 1973
most of the population bf Brazil, the
loreign interestpaymentsaggravating
it sacked thousands of * orliers from its
the 'miracle'
has brought about a worsening
balance of paymentsdeficits, continues.
Sao Paulo factories.Thev had beenworkBrazil is in no better a positionto pay off of the conditionsof intensepovertv and ing for Ford sinceI96-.and*ereentitled
misery.
its massiveforeign debt - $:0biition
to substantialpavmentsfrom the Fundo.
than it was before it embarked on its Malnutrition causes seven out of ten However, Ford had nor put any money
rapid growth. In I 969 its debt was one deathsamongchildrenunder five, accord- aside for this purpose.and refusedto pay
and a half timesits annualexport earninss. ing to the World Health Organisation. up. The workers. assistedbl the labour
This ratio is expectedto 6e about oie Infant mortality rates in 1970 were 105 tribunal sued the Ford \{otor Company,
and three quarterstimesexport earnings per 1000 live births - the comparative and eventualll'$on their case,but thev
in 1977, but only at the expenseof a figure for Britain is 19. Realwageshave received
no mone\ unril l9-7.
crippling squeezeon the economy in an consistentlyfallen as inflation rages,and
ln 1977, car salesi:. B::zrl t-ellsharply,
attempt to reduceimports.The interest the Union of MetallurgicalWorkers
claims as governmentar:e::);:-i:.\halt imports
aloncon the foreigndebt this yearcomes that the cost of livins index has
been
to ffi. I billion, or over half Brazil'sexport deliberately rigged by the government and boostexpons:..::e: up the priceof
petrol, restncted :r::::. and squeezed
earnings.
ever since 1973, to hide thc real rise in the domestic
marke: F rr rhe first six
prices.The top five per cent of the popumonths of the 1e.::. '-'1eswere 12%
lation increasedtheir shareof the total
SocialCosts
lower than thel'ha; :e::. in 1976.Ford
ln 1972 the Brazilian governmentin- urban income ftom 28% in 1960 t"o35% recentlyopeneda rr:::-:
tlant in Brazil,
stituted a programme of massive tax in 1970. This fact hasbeenhypocritically and the tractor
m3;^e:.
:.,,r.
rs showins
concessions
to car manufacturers
if thev criticisedby Robert McNamara,president somedecline.
of
the
Worltl
Bank.
Yet
it
World
is the
boostedexportsand helpetlalleviatelhe
balanceof paymentsproblem.Ford took Bank that must take much of the blame In its attempt to :e--3::.Jreits market
full advantageof this, and created an for the situation and as Minister of sharein Brazil. Fo:i :::1:!\Juced
a new
export programmeworth some $1000- Finance Delfim Netto said. "thev have model,the Corcelle! I ::sed on the new
Ford himself
million over a period of five years.They never asked us to changeanythin! and I EuropeanCortina. H::r
supplied the 4-cylinder enginesfor the am sure they will continue to loan in the visited Brazil tbr th: ..r'lnch. and met
He :,aimedthat the
US Pinto from the factory in Taubate, same way". Destitution and hunger are with the Presidenr.
and reducedproductionin Detroit.Diesel t h e n i g h t m a r e sb e h i n d t h e d r e i m o f companywas losine Sl50 on every car
sold in Brazil becau- .,i the sovemenglnes are exported to Japan, where Brazil'smiracle.
ment'spnce regulati,n'. :nJ p.rorinarket
they are fitted into trucks which are
conditions. Ford ciar:rl. to have lost
then exported to the US. Other car Cheatingthe Poor
makers similarly tumed their Brazilian The motor industry, basedin the suburbs $1lmillion during lo-o Ford's solution
subsidiaries
into export bases.Yet three around Sao Paulo, has added its own was that the go!€rnment should give a
years later, Brazil still had a pavments burden to the lives of car workers. subsidy to the companl for everycar it
q a p . i n c l u d i n g d e b r r e p a y m e n r so, f G,overnment regulations provide that sold in Brazil. If the profit situationdid
$ l 0 7 . 8 n r i l l i o inn t h e a u r os e c r o rt.x p o r r s atter six months of continuousemolov- not improve,seriousthought would have
were worth $268.5million,but imports. m e n t ,a w o r k e rb e c o m eesn l i t l e dt o n a v - to be given before anl ne* investment
inflatetb
l y i n v e s t m e ncta p i l a lo f $ R 3 . 4 - mcntsfrom a srrreorganised
lay-oii fund could be sanctioned.
million and loans of $228.4million. to which employershave to contribute
At about the samerime rn Geneva.lce
totalled$476million.
the Fundo GarantiaTempoServico.ln Iaccocawasaddressrng
rhe S* issAmerican
. I i only multiThe truth is that the largemultinational order to avoid this, about a third of the Chamberof Commerce
car firms, while reaping profits from work force of the motor manufacturersis nationalswere not hinderedby codesof
governnlentconcessions
what
and investment laid off every six rnonths.If they are conductor governmenrregulations,
grants.have contributednothing to the lucky, theseworkerswill be re-employed benefits they brouehr ro developing
stability of the Brazilianecononry,and by another manufacturer for another nations - what posirive effects they
their effect on socialconditionsin Brazil six months. They work in the industry had had on counrrieslike Brazil and
lor years, without ever achievingany Taiwan!The Ford messase
hasbeendisast
rous.
- is clear:"The
security of tenure or lay-off pay. The host country can r*in by welcoming
The Brazilian working class has born motor industry has created its own multinational corpomtions and
learning
the brunt of the 'Brazilianmiracle'and migrantlabourforce,with a third of the all they haveto teach."
{Ford: A Global
the super-profitsof the rnultinationals. labour lbrce constantly on the movc, Corporaticn
)
JL
Hi
Popperfoto
'no
frills'
from one end of the building to the thirty six seconds.Salesof the
other with a rope.A groupof men walked ModelT burgeoned:
along with it, grabbing parts from pre1910
21,000
placed piles as they went along. The
t9l1
54,000
next refinement was to station different
t912
82,000
men, or teams,by the equipment,and
199.000
l9l3
. As the By l9l9 monthly productionwas86,000,
drag the chassispast them
processwas refined, the number of man and this had risen to over 100,000 per
hours per car was cut f rom | 5r,4to lrA' month by 1921.Novemberof 1922sawa
(Herndon).
new monthlyrecordof 240,000.
The introduction of the assemblyline and
mass production of the Model T gave MassProduction
While Ford concentratedon production
Ford a domination of the US auto
Before the computerisedlines of today figures,GeneralMotors concentratedon
industry which lastedover twenty years.
were ever thought of, the processhad profit margins.Henry Ford had an almost
'When they first attempted to assemble
been streamlinedand the workforcepres- pathological distaste for the niceties of
an entirecarby the assemblyline method, sured to the point where a Model T was modern financial management,and ironithey put a frame on skids and pulled it coming off the line every one minute cally enough the financial and sales
The North American operationsof the
Ford Motor Company are. and always
have been, the hub of the Ford empire.
Ideas,tactics and processesare developed
in the home baseand then adaptedand
exported. And the competitiverelationship of the major auto companiesin
North America determinesto a considerable extent their overseas strategies.
5J
experts who eventually gave General
Moton its superiority had moved across
from Ford to its rival in the post World
War I period. Norval Hawkinswas a sales
expert who went over to GM at this
time, and he openedthe way for William
H. Knudsen, who had supervisedthe
planning and consrructio; of Ford
assemblyplants both in the Statesand
in Europe. Knudsen it was who led GM
into its dominationof the car market,
originallyas headof Chevrolet,and later
asheadof the entirecompany.
thousand unemployed marched to the
gatesof.the Ford plant where they were
fired on by the guns of the Dearbom
Police and the Ford ServiceDepartment.
Four marchen were killed and over a
scoreinjured.
diseaseknown as Forditis.Men had ulcers
and the shakes.If rhel talked at all on
the job, it was out of rhe sidesof their
mouths'(Hemdon).
Bennettwas a thug \iho had ingratiated
himself with Ford. and as Ford srew
Working conditions in the new plant more senile.Bennertgreu more powerwere worse than rhey had been in the ful in t oth facron and boardroom.He
old one. Speed-uphad been a fact of life ran the Seruce Deparrmenrof 3,500
at least since the introduction of the private police including hundreds of
'Five
Dollar Day' in 1914. Henry Ford goons armed with pisrols and clubs,
had gained a lot of favourablepublicitv leasingfranchisesinside Ford plants to
lrom doublingthe wagerateandshorten- local gangsters.
and t-ighrrne
anYattempts
Againstthe adviceof his son Edsel.who ing the working day from nine to eight to unionisewith sickenrnsbrutality.The
was president of the company, Henry hours. But the workforce had paid a justificationfor rhis brurilitl camefrom
'We
Ford clung to the Model T through the heavyprice in rermsof speed-up
will
ai Ford Henry Ford. who hii sr:ied
twenties. It was, however, increasingly reducedthe cost of the ModelT to boost never recognisethe United Auto Workers
obviousthat Chevrolet.with a car that sales. Ford had benefited also from a or any other Union. l.abour union organwas nlore aestheticallypleasingas well declinein labour turnoverand absentee- isations are the sont thinqs that ever
as having as standardequipment items ism. The Five Dollar Day had effecrively struck the earth'.
which were extrason the Model T, was createda largepool of unemployedwho
'refusedro :e ;epressed
by the
eating into Ford sales.Styling as an waited at the gates of the factory for Ford also
depression.Again ar:J aEain between
elementof competitionwas winningits vacancles.
1929 and, 1934 he erl l ,,rutsratements
first big battle.
that shockedthose*h.' h:i uatchedthe
The
Day
$5
In 1916 Ford production dropped by
agony in the breaCi:r:e,.He said the
more than a quarterof a million units. A week after the new rate had been
depreSsion
was'whrrle,r!.nie'.
that people
CM now had 28% of the US market. announced, together with a hiring prowould profit by rhe ':llr.:,: berauie'ihe
gramme
of
four
or
five
thousand
new
Ford tried a few cosmetictoucheson thc
recoveryis prolonged':r:r:t thesearethe
agingModel T but it was no use.Wlien men, there was still a crowd of ten
best times we ever ha;..' tBur[ngame)
thousand
jobs
waiting
in
the
snow
for
Henry Ford evenluallygavein, the steps
I r e l t r o k t t r i m n l e n r e nt lh e r e s t r u c t u roef which had already been filled. The Ford Of course Ford cou.: ,iiord to feel
p r u d u c t i o nd i s p e l l e rdn y i l l u s i o p p
5 e p u - method of dispersingthe surplus was to remotefrom the brea,:-t::.:s.
His personal
larly heldabouthis humanitarianism.
The turn fire hoses on them. In 1916 the i n c o t n ei n l 9 1 9 r . r : . . : . ' : r S l , l m i l l i o n ,
Ford Sociological
Departmentstatedthat with Edselreceivins: :;riher S8million.
plant was run flat out for the first part of 'looked
at from a cold-bloodedpoint of Strikescalledbv theUnrieJAuro Workers
I e l T i n o r d e rt o s r r r c k p iel en , r u gM
h odel
Ts firr future demand.Whenthe lastof a view of businessinvestmenl( the Five had securedconrracri .lt borh Ceneral
total production of over | 5 million had Dollar Day) was the very bestinvestment Motors and Chrysler 'rr rhe spring of
rolled off the Iine. lhe plant uas shut (the Ford Motor Company) has ever 1937, and 'Ford nexr' $3s rhe war-cry.
down and 60,000 workers were thrown m a d e ' .
In May of the same vear the city of
out of work. The plant was closed for
Dearborn,promptedbr Roosevelt's
New
Speed-up
was
also
standard
practice
in
six months from May | 927. There was
tlie new RougePlant.and to the pressure Deal legislation. gave union organisers
no unemploymentpay, and the jettisoned
permits to distribure leailers to Ford
Ford workers had to apply for city o f t l r e l i n e w a s a d d e dr h e s h e e rb h v s i c a l workersoutside the garesoi rhe Rouge
'relief
l'ear
engendered
by rhe ServiceDipart.
. D e r r u i rl r a , lr r e l r e rb' i i l $ t n r i l l i " n
plant. On May 26rh rhe UAW represenrnent.
hisherthan in 1926.
t a t i v e s6, 0 q w o m e n .\ \ e n r l o t h a s a t e s
'Ford,
a t t h e s h i f t c h a n g e . ( ' \ ' er irm e . I n l h e
the onetimehumanist,
hadpublicly 'Battle
of the Overpass' the overpass
stated that men worked foFnoney and
HunserMarch
were kept in line through lear
so was a pedestrianbridge over the road
MeanwhileFord wasbuildinga new plant while Sorensonand his straw bosses outside the planr
the UAW people
on the River Rougewhichwould ernploy drove the men mercilessly.Bennett's were severelybeaten up by Bennett's
a l o t l e s sm e n t h a n h a d b e e np u t o u t o f army of thugskept them in line . . . The men. Thc two senior union represenw o r k . F o r y e a r sD e t r o i tw a sp l a g u e w
d i t h specdup aged men prernaturely;when t r r i v e s , W a l r e r R e u r h e r a n d I i i c h r r d
unempkryment.
Only half a nrillionFold they could no iongerproducethey were
cars were producedin 1931 a drop o1' discarded.Bennett'sspiesinfiltratedthe
Top: F,arly,,assenbly line
o n e r l i l l i o n f r o r n 1 9 1 9 .I n 1 9 3 2 t h r e e plant. The result was tlrc occupauonar
B o t t o n l : Q u e u i n gf o r t h e i r c a r d s . 1 9 4 6
54
Poppetfoto
Keystone
;l
:l
Frankensteen,were particularly badly dent was to sack 1,000employees,and in petitive with one another, both for
beaten and thrown down the stairs. the course of his first year at the helm divisionalprofits and for the rewardson
no less than 32,000 Ford worken in the a personallevel of financialbonusesand
Camera-men and reporters from the USA
lost their jobs.
upward mobility in the hierarchy. A
national press had their equipment
group of ex-Serviceofficers to be known
smashed, were beaten up and chased During the war productivity had fallen as the
Ford Whizz Kids were hired.
in carsfiom the sceneof the battle.This 34%, and according to workers at the including
RobertMcNamara,who was ro
'the
initiated a presscampaignagainstFord. Rougeplant
placewas runningwild'. become a Ford president,US
Secretary
In Kansas and Dallas union workers Wildcat strikes were frequent, and with of Defence,and president
of the World
received similar treatment. Followins wageshavingbeen frozen sincethe begin- Bank. But for all the
new talent hired
these evenrsthere was a perrodof in-- ning of the war, the recentlyrecognised for the reorganisation
Henry Ford II
creased violence inside the factories. UAW put in a major claim.Henry Ford II firmly retained the
ultimate authority.
In a court casethe companywas found used a tactic to deal with this situation
guilty of several violations of federal that has been part of management's The Ford family has always insisted on
law, and eventually,after the dischargeannoury ever since. He bought off the financial control of the company, and,
of eight workers for union agitation,the claim - but got the union to police its given that control, has never been able
workersstruck, picket lines were set up own members. The company agreed to to resist the opportunity to wield perandbarricades
erected.
an l8%% rise, while the union 'took sonal as well as financial power via the
definite steps' to control its membenhip, top executive position. The family's
Eventually the strikers won, an election
financial control was threatenedon the
was held md 7O%of the worken voted agreeingthat its memben could be fired .
for instigating or taking part in work death of Henry Ford I by the prospect
for the union. A contract was drawn up.
of having to sell largeamountsof shares
In exchangefor dropping all the cases stoppages.
in order to pay death duties, as the
againstFord the union receivedits most The first Henry Ford built, and then all
Roosevelt New Dealers had jacked up
generouscontractever.
but ruined.the Ford Motor Companyby inheritance
tax to 9l% to help pay for
autocraticrule. The secondHenrv Ford
Ford's son, Edsel, died in May 1943
the
new
social
welfare measuresbeins
maintained the prerogativeof the final
and Ford hirnsell, 80 years old and
decision in all major matters. He also introdrrced.
completelyunfittedfor the organisational
bought in all the help and skill he could
task necessary,assumedthe company
to reorganise the company, get the
preside
ncy.
accountsin order and replanproduction Ford Foundation
Between them Henry Ford I and his son
With companyorganisation
in a chaotic andmarketing.
Edsel had owned 96.5% of the Ford
state,the War ProductionBoardand the GeneralMotors
was the industrvleader Motor Companystock, with Mrs Henry
production
Armed Servicesfelt thar the
becauseit had wedded the production Ford owningthe other 3.5%.Edsel,with
of B24 aircrrfl at Ford's Willow Run techniques
of Fordismto the marketing 41.5% had establishedtrust funds for
plant was under threat.In August 1943
strategies
known as SloanismafterAlfred his four children, thereby circumventing
Henry Ford II, the old man'sgrandson, P.SloanJnr.,president
andchief executive the inheritancetax laws. Henrv Ford I.
was releasedfrt-rmthe Nar,y an-dsent t.t officer
of GM from 1923. To theseGM h o w e v e r ,h a d r e s i s t e da l l a t r i m p r s r o
sort thingsout.
had also added a system of company b r e a ku p h i sm a j o r i t yh o l d i n g .
O n S e p t e m b e2r l s t 1 9 4 5 H e n r yF o r d I I structureand financialcontrol.The Ford 'As
mattersstoodat that crucialiuncture.
was formally elecred presidentof the Motor Companyhadattemptedto survive
I hc governmenrwaitedanxiouslyin the
companyafterEdsel's
wife hadthreatened through Fordism alone, and as a result
to GM in -wings for its whopping 91% of the estate
to sellher Ford stock if Henry I did not had lost its market supremacy
unless,of course, the expertsshould
hand over the reins.Bennettwasousted. the twenties.
conjure
up an eleventhhour loophole.
andHenryFord II foundhimselfin charge
Determinedthat now was the time to T h u s w a s b o r n l h e F o r d F o u n d a r i o fno r
o f a n a i l i n gg i a n t o f a c o m p a n yl o s i i g
competewith GM on more equalterms, HumanAdvancement'
(Demaris).
l ! l 0 m i l l i o n a m o n t h . W i t h o u rw r r c u n H e n r yF o r d I l l u r e da c r o s E
s r n e sB
t reech
l r a c t sa n d m o n e ys t a s h eadw a yi n v a r i o u s
from GM to teachFord management
the The Foundationhad actuallybeenincorbanksthe end would alreadyhavecome.
poraredin 1936 with a $25,000grant,
GM
system.
Now that war productionwas over, the
and had made small grantsin and around
cash reserveswere diminishins fast^ and Scoresof GM men cameover with Breech. Detroit, most of which were beneficial
Ford was losing$300 ,rn ever-ycal sold The Ford Motor Company became de- to the company. The charter of the
in competitionwith Chevrolet.
centralisedinto divisions, with a strict Foundation stated, 'The purpose or
profit orientation, researchand develop- purposesof thiscorporationareasfollows:
Henry Ford II
m e n t i n v e s l m e n t as n
, d s c i e n t i f icco s t i n q . to receive and administer funds for
Practicallythe first act of the new presi- Managemenlpersonnelwere made com- scientific, educational and charitable
JO
purposes,all for the public welfare,and
for no other purpose. . .'
After Henry Ford I died in 1947 at the
age of 83, 88% of Ford Motor Company
assetsin the form of a new issueof convertible non-votingstock - ClassA shares
were handedover to the Ford Foundation. The family retained the nonvotingstock ClassB shares.
'On the foundation'sbooks this (stock)
was given the value. for tax purposes.
of $4l6million. but its real value. as
of Ford Motors.
measured
by the earnings
was at least $2%billion' (Macdonald).
The deaths of Henry Ford I and Edsel
Ford realiseda combinedinheritancetax
(on property other than Ford stock) of
$30million. This was on total assetswith
a market valueof over $3billion - i.e. |Vo.
Thus financial control stayed in the
family - and the Ford Foundation
embarked on its own growth and sig- River Rouge stikers
unionisation. 1941
nificance.
Beginning in 1956 the administrators
began to diversify the portfolio following
the going public of the Ford Motor
Company. l-arge blocks of stock were
sold back to the company,which converted it to voting securities which were
graduallyput on public sale.
'The family retainedposs€ssion
of 40% of
battle for
winning
the long
long and
and bloody
bl6
winning the
The penalty for attempting
Ke ystone
to organise at Ford
the voting rightsin the form of 2,700,000
ClassB shares.In all it held 12.1%of ell
Ford stock. It was enough to ensure
that Henry Ford II ran the Ford Motor
Company as he liked. The sale also
provided the Ford Foundation with an
initial $640,725,445'(Beynon).
By 1969the Ford Foundationhad reduced
its holding of Ford's outstandingstock to
werepaying
25%.butits otherinvestments
dividends,and at the end of fiscal 1971
the Ford Foundation had assets of
$3.2billion. It has turned into a multinational operation of great political
largesumsof money,
influence,dispensing
particularly overseas.It has far more
overseasstaff than home staff, and has
extended the influence of Ford money
and ideology with a strong emphasison
those Third World countries considered
to be 'politically sensitive'.For example,
)/
between January 1965 and November sector whrch providesthe greatestprofit given Ford an advantageover GM in the
1967 the Foundationmade direct $US margins.In I 955 Ford startedto plan the externalmarket.
grantsto at least25 foreigngovernmentsextension of its own range in order to Ford's capital plant and equipment
in valueby $4,064.1or regions, including UAR, Jordan, challengethe CM and Chryslerstableson lias been increased
million, or 268%, over the period 1960Lebanon, Zambia, Nigeria. Paktstan, a widerfront.
1 9 7 6f r o m $ 1 . 5l 6 m . t o $ 5 . 5 8 0 m .
India. Ivory Coast, Syria, Iraq, Tanhad
the Americans
zania,Mexico, Kenya,Tunisia,Antigua, Unlike thc Europeans,
USPlantI-ocations
no desire lbr a small oar. The import Motor Vehicle Assembly Lines
Cameroon.West Bengal, Chilc, Brazil
practically non-existent, A t l a n t a , ( ; A
W a y n e ,M l
of companyand market was
andNepal.The strategies
San Hose, CA
the small fcrreigncars that found Chicago, IL
and
foundationhavenot alwayscoincided.
Twin (litics, MN
tlieir way into the country were looked Dearborn, MI
Wixom, MI
OH
In the early 1970sthe Foundationgavea on as curiosities.
Yet by 1968 the home Lorain,
Pico Rivera
Oakville, Ont
grant
to
help
establish
a
school
$99.700
industry was sitting up and taking notice Los Angcles,CA
St Thomas, Ont
in Tanzaniafor Mozambiquanrefugees of the half million VW salesin the USA K a n s a sC i t y , M O
St Louis,MO
Michigan Truck
from the then Portuguese
Louisville, KY
colonialpower. in that year.
Norfolk, VA
Mahwah, NJ
The Portuguese
Foreignministerattacked 'Snrall
N{etuchen,NJ
Canada Truck, Ont
give
headache'
cars
Detroit
big
the Foundation for allegedly financing
the Liberation Front of Mozanbioue. clainred the lilashingtonPosl with some Engine Assembly Lines 1976
Fairfax, OH
VW led the importersby a wide Lima, Otl
Pressure
was broughtto hearon the Ford accuracyLivonia, Ml
Cleveland, OII
Ford
had
tried
to
buy
up
the
VW
margin.
Motor Company's assembly plant in
Windsor, Ont
Sharonville, OH
Lisbon. The grant was terminated,and company after the war without success. Automotive
Plants
Component
however
making
in
Gerwas
Opels
the,Vew York Times reportedthat'The GM
Castings
Ford Foundation is reported to have many, and importsof thesecamesecond. Shefficld, AL (Alurninium) Dearborn, MI
particular
Toyota lrlat
assured the Government of Premier On the WestCoastin
Rock, MI
Cleaveland,OH
Salazarthat it would be consultedbefore and Datsun were making their first Metal Stampings
ces.
any f'uture grants are given to African appearan
Buffalo, NY
Chicago Heights, IL
areasof particularinterestto Portugal.. .'
Maumee, OH
Woodhaven, MI
The Americancar nrakersgrumbledabout Cleveland,OH
The Directorof the Americancommittee import penetration,and Henry Ford in Dearborn, MI (Tools and dies)
on Africa sent a telesramto the Ford particularcomplainedabout the Japanese
Chassis
Foundation President,complainingthat on the groundsthat competitionwas all Indianapolis, IN (power train, cold formed
'the Ford Foundationis being
usedfor very well, but the Japaneseunfairly did p a r t s )
political purposesby the Ford Motor not allow Americanproducersinto their Dearborn, MI (frames)
Sterling Heights, Ml (Rear axle, Front end
Cornpanyand tax statusshouldbe open country. HoweverFord was busily build- suspension,
drive shafts)
to exarnination
by the Bureauoflnternal ing up its overseas
especially Monroe, MI (Wheels,coil springs,bumpers)
operations,
Revenue.The fact that a grant for educa- in Europe, and activity in the USA was Canton, OH (forgings)
tionalaidto Mozambique
refugeestudents confined to the continued competition Industrial engines and turbine plant
was recently terminated by the Ford with GM and Chrysler.
Dearborn, MI
Foundationis intcrpretedas willingness
of Throughout the 60s the American auto Steel
of the Foundationto yield to pressures
Dearborn, MI
industryspenta largeportion of its net
the Motor Cornpanyand Portugal.'
Glass
Despite the healy capital expenditure prolits on expandingproduction facilities. Dearborn, MI
demandedby the post-warreorganisationGM and Ford relied almost entirely on Tulsa, OH
and the introductionof a brandnew post internally generatedfunds,while Chrysler I n d u s l r i a la n d ( ' h e mi c i r lp r o d u c t s
war model (insteadof an updated I942 had a far greater dependenceon thr Mt Clemens, MI (Paint, vinyl products)
Utica, MI (Soft trim)
model),the Ford Motor Companyshowed capitalmarket.
Parts
General
a profit of $l77millionin 1949.Thiswas Working from the overseas
baseoriginally Plymouth,
MI (Heaters,air cond'ners)
the beginningof competitionon a model- built up by Henry I. overseas
expansion. Rawsonville, MI (Carburetors, powdered metal
for-model basis. The new Ford was a particularlyin Europe,alsowent aheadat parts, alternators, srnall rnotors, fuel senders,
direct competitor with GM's Chevrolet, a considerablerate once Ford was back master brake cylindcrs)
gainingsteadilyon it as the new annual into profit. Due partly to the original Saline, MI (Plastic parts, instruments)
Ypsilanti, Ml (Horns, distributors, ignition
versionscame out, until by 1954 it was extent of Ford's overseas
base,and partly components, shock absorbers, starters, regucloseto outsellingChevrolet.Ford, how- to the fact that GMs strengthlay in the lators, ignition coils)
ever was usingtwo body shellsfor 97% profitability of largeAmericancarswhile Green Island, NY (Radiators, leaf-springs,
of its productionat this time, while GM the European market was concentrated heater cores) (Lamps,
Sandusky, OH
starter drives, zinc and
had a far wider range,particularlyin the around smaller model sizes,fiom 1965 aluminium die cast parts, window regulators,
larqer car sector of the market
the onwardsFord's operationsoverseas
have air cleancrs, oil frlters)
58
The Multinational
The Direct Investment confers advantages that no importer could enjoy. A company that apparently
provides jobs and export earning is not treated in the same way as an importer of foreign goods.
.In the previous machinery market, and this subsidiary
The InternationalDvision was formed in in the threeyearsto 19'79
1949 to co-ordinatethe activitiesof the five years it spent some f,2,300m, in- makes earth moving equipment, excasubsidiaries.
Today cluding severalmajor projectssuchas the vators and so on. Although only the
company's36 overseas
there are 55 active overseassubsidiaries, Valenciaplant. No majornew construction Cortina/Taunusenginesare made in two
plants, all but the small Fiesta engines
operatingin four major groups: Europe; projectsareplanned.
and Mid-East Salesin Europe accounted,for 20.37oof are used in at leasttwo different models.
latin America:Asia-Pacific;
The three major centresof engineproducand Africa.
Ford's total salesin 1976, and a much tion
are Cologne(Germany), Dagenham
'The
increases (UK) and Valencia(Spain).
Operations
accoun- larger 31% of total profits.
In 1916 International
ted for -ll% of the company'ssales,44% in earningsoutsidethe United Statesand
oi its profits, and,46%of its employment. Canadaduring 1975 and 1976 primarily Ford U.K.
Given the saturation of the American wereattributableto Europeanoperations.'
Ford is now the largestseller of cars in
car market, and the squeezeon profit (Ann,-ralReport 1976).
the UK. It took market leadershipfrom
Ford make five passenger
margins,thesesharesarelikely to grow.
carsin Europe:
l,eyland in the first six months of 1977,
more as a result of kyland's weakness
(money in millions of $, employeesin 000s)
Data by GeographicArea 1976
than of any surgingforward of its own.
Sales % Net holit
% Investment % Employees %
However, the Ford Cortina and Escort
19858 69
US & Canada
546
56
351
64
5 3 were comfortably ahead in the LK car
235.9
584'7 20
Europe
305
3r
160 29
3 0 salesleague.and all five of the company's
i33.8
carswete in lhe top ren list:
1783 6
latin America
7t
7
33
1 l passenger
6
49.9
All other (mainly
1352
Asia-Pacilic)
5
6t6
5 Retail CarSales:UK-Januaryto June I977
7
|
24.3
I . +Cortina
70,91I
Totals
28840 r00
983
100
1 0 0 2. *Escort
5 5 1 100 443.9
54,134
35,536
In 1976 Ford's share of the world car the Capri; Cortina (Taunus); Escort; 3 . M a r i n a
4. Allegro
31.059
market outside North America was9.5% Granadaland Fiesta.These five cars are
5. Mini
31,035
with l.5m cars sold. Ford's major com- assembled
at nine centres.and no model
6. Chevette 30,413
petitiors outside North Ameriea were except the Granadais dependenton one
7. xFiesta
23,771
Toyota, wilh a 9.8% share of the car. centrealone.The Granadais built only at
+Capri
8.
22,408
market, Volkswagen with 9.5%, Nissan Cologne(Germany),the Escortat Cologne
9. Cavalier 20,810
with 9%, GeneralMotors with 8.4% and and Saarlouis,
whilethe Cortina(Taunus)
10. *Granada 18,470
Fiat with 83%.Ford truckssold348,000 and the Escort arebuilt in both Germany
units,givinga marketshareof 8.5%.
and Britain. The Fiesta is built in Spain *Fo
rd
for most of Eurupe. in Germany for
Europe
and
export
to
the
US,
in
the
and
Ford Errope
Ford had a 27.l% shareof the IIK car
and Belgium.
The heart of Ford's internationalooera- UK for Britain, Scandinavia
market. with 190,000 cars sold in the
Models
are
assembled
in
other
countries
tions is Europe.where somet*u thit,ls
first six monthsof 1977
ofthe company's
overseas
salestakeplace. in Europe. such as Portugalor lreland,
this
is
only.
but
for
local
distribution
1976 was a recordyear for Ford UK
Ford of Europecoordinatesthe activities
it swept to record prof)ts and exports,
of l5 separatenationalcompanieswith
I 35.000 employeesin a marketof some Ford vans are built in Genk (Belgium), with a substantialincreasein produc350m people.In 1976,Ford had record and Southampton(UK), while lorriesare tivity and a 20% improvementin vehicle
salesof 1.2m cars and trucks.Car sales. manufacturedat Langley (UK: A and D sales.The number of Ford workersrose
( Transcontinental
andAmsterdam
). by about 1000 overall to 68,000, bur
up 30% from 1975, totalled l.lm ex- series)
ceeding the 19"72 record b-"" 38,000 Production of lorries was centralisedat they produced 600,000 vehicles.against
vehicles.The 30% increasein Ford sales langley to be in a position to assaultthe 532,000 the year before. On a crude
compareswilh a 13% rise in total Euro- Europeanmarket when Britain entered productivity gaugethis meansthat Ford
pean car sales,and brought Ford'smarket the EEC. but this stratesv was not went up from 7.95 vehiclesper worker
(including tractors, trucks and cars) to
shareup to 11.2% f rom 9 .8%.Salesof especiallysuccessful.
Ford-builttrucks were 144,000in 1976,
8.83 vehiclesper worker in 1976.
comparedwith 127,000in 1975: a market Tractor oDerationsare co-ordinatedfrom
Basildon (UK), and assemblyalso takes The company'sprofits. rt t | 2 | .6m preshareof 137o.
place in Antwerp (Belgium). The acqui- tax, were almostdouble the previoushigh
Ford plans to spend some f,800m on sition in 1971 of RichierS.A. of France of !65.4m in 19'73.and comparewith
expansion and modernisationin Europe broueht Ford into the industrial profits of f,14.1m in 1975. The value
59
of direct.exports(i.e. ignoringimports)
went up almost 49% from 3452.3m in
1 9 7 5 r o f , 6 3 1 . 8 mi n 1 9 7 6 .a s F o r d t o o k
full advantageof the falling price of
slerling.The actual number of vehicles
exported rose too. however.by 27% to
.+06,000.Ford reversedthe trend of
the previousfew years toward rapidly
increasedbank borrowings.and reduced
its loansby half, from 129.2mto [63.4m.
It had salesof il .6b comparedto f,l . I b
in I 975.
'The
just how
Ford resultsdemonstrate
well-runcompanies.
especially
exporters,
can have benefittedfrom recent Government concessions.
Whilelhe group'swage
bill, thankspartly to the Pay Code,rose
by l9%. salesjumped by 42% (slightly
faster,in fact, in the home market taken
separately).
Only t7m of tax is payable.'
(FinancialTimes26.3.77).
Plant
Empktyment
Dagenham
29,000
Halewood
14,000
Leamington
1,400
BasildonTractor 3,700
Basildon
Radiator 900
Dunton
3 ,500
Belfast
i,000
Daventry
I,500
Enfield
I,300
Warley
1.750
4,000
Southampton
Swansea
2,000
Aveley
900
Woolwich
600
Croydon
300
Treforest
400
Ford Germany
After North AmericaandJapan,Germany
is the largest vehicle producer in the
world.lt is the largestproducerin Europe,
and secondlargestvehicleexporterin the
world after Japan, ahead of Francc,
Canadaand the US. Ford-WerkeA.G. is
Ford's biggcstoverseas
subsidiary.
1976 was an excellentyear for FordWerke, and the production lossessustained during the recessionyears of
1974 and 1975 werenradeup. A record
812,800 carsand trucks were produced,
an increaseof 28.1%over 1975,helped
by thc introduction of the Fiesta in
May 1976.
hoduction by plant
1976
European car an,.llruck productiltn lQ76
Germany
France
GreatBritain
Italy
60
4.3m
3.4m
l.7m
1.6m
Cologne 2 4 2 , t1 7
Saarlouis 244,490
Genk
326,191
Total
8I 2,798
The Capri and Granadawere assenrbled
in Cologne, the Fiesta and Escort in
Saarlouis,and the Taunus (Cortina) and
Transit in Genk. Although Genk is sited
geographicallyin Belgium, the plant is
accountedaspart of Ford Werke.Engines
for the Pinto and Mustangwereexported
to the US from Cologne,over 4000 kits
lbr Granada assernblyin South Africa
wereproduced,
aswasproductionmaterial
in Holland.
1 9 7 5 % c h a n g a for Taunus(Cortina)assernbly
The averagedaiiy production of vehicles
194,t42 24.1
wasabout3.500 units.
218,993 II.6
41
221,401
.3
Domestic sales of Ford vehicles were
6 3 4, 5 3 6 2 8 . 1
of 133% over
354,915units,an increase
tu
..+
&
1*"a"
"i
..-q
1975. This included 10,500 imports.
mainly from Holland,Britainand the US.
The rest of Ford-Werke'sproduction.
466,723units. was exported- a riseof
41%.
Ford Werke employed 5 2,900 workers Chile's reign of terror begins, backed by
the Ford Motor Companv
at the end of 1976,of which over42000
were hourly paid manual worken
a
large proportion of these were immigrant
worken.
profits in 1976o{ DM627.8m(tl 59.7m),
u p l 2 l V o o n 1 9 7 5 .a n d p a i d D M 7 2 0 m
3 1, 31 6
Ford is the third largestvehicleproducer Cologne
(f,l83m) in dividends.
1 l, 2 6 7
in Gcrmany.afrer Volkswagenand Opel Genk
7,852
(GM). ln the commercialve-hicle
market. Saarlouis
850
Ford maintainedits share in a static Wulfrath
Ford Latin America
1 1, 6 4 4
market with Transit vans, the A and N Duren
As recentlyasthe beginningof 1975 Ford
series (the N series was specificallv Total
5) qrq
was saying 'Latin America - increased
designedfor the Germanmarket,base'd
share of larger market'. In November
on the successfulD seriesthat had sold This was an increase
of 5O00 over 1975 1974, Ford of latin Americawas formed
in Britain), and the healy ,Transcon- - although 8 58 I workerswerelaid off in
to co-ordinate the activities of Ford's
tinental' from Amsterdam.
1974 and 1975. Ford claimed record subsidiariesin Argentina,Brazil Mexico,
6l
Uruguay and Venezuela,and direct sales In the first four months of 1977,salesof Argentina
operationsin many other l-atin American vehiclesfell to 281,215 vehicles- a full
countnes.
l0% on the sameperiod in 1976. Ford In 1973, in its Annual Report, Ford
'In a seriesof
attacksdurins 1973
and General Motors are the worst hit. wrote
At that time Ford had 980 franchised
againstseveralforeign and locally owned
dealersin the area,and salesof carsand Over lfi)O of Ford's 22,0fi) worken in businessesin Argentina, terrorists killed
trucks were 235900 and 120,300. Brazil were laid off between January and two employeesof Ford in Argentinaand
(Compare with Europe's l.2m). This March 1977, and more have since lost wounded three others. Since these
represented 16.9% of the entire l-atin their jobs. According to l,ee A. Iaccocca, tragic events,the Company has received
American car market, and 25 .4% of its Ford's President, Ford is losing $250 on assurancesfrom the Argentine governtrucks. Unlike the restof the world, these every car manufactured in Brazil. Ford ment that it will provide for the safety
marketswere still growing.
makesmedium sized and largepassenger of Ford's employees and facilities,
which have been placed under military
Retail Salesof Ford Carsand Trucks Brazil
protection.' A little later Ford moved all
&rs
Morket share
Trucks
Mrket share its non-Argentinianstaff, some twenty
people,mostly American,to neighbouring
1976
127,160
t 7. 0
42,340
29.O
Uruguay.
49 )<1
1975
122,918
1 7. 3
JJ.J
1974
1973
I 3 0 , 2 51
t 05,680
19.0
r 7. 6
4't ,483
lq rl5q
32.6
29.7
The sort of military protection Ford
receivesfrom the Argentinian government
today is revealedby items like this: 'More
than 9000 car industry workers defied a
military Government ban on strikes and
yesterday continued stoppages
. the
Government decreedjail terms of one to
ten years for strikers.' (Financial Times
lO.9.76). The Argentinian regime is
perhapsthe most systematicallyrepressivc
in the whole of Latin America - torture
of prisoners is commonplace, and hundreds of trdde unionists languishin jail.
Since then, after two yearsas'a major cars, and petrol and diesel lorries, in
bright spot on the world automotive Brazil, and has been particularlyhard hit
scene',the recessionhas caught up with by recent Government measures to
latin America, and far from continuing restrictpetrol consumption.
to grow, vehiclesaleshavedeclined.Total
car sales fell 3% in 1975 , a further | .2% Ford of Brazil lost Crl53m ($11.2m)in
in 1976 and more in 197'1. Truck sales 1976, afler a net profit of Crl l9 million
were static in 1975, and,fell 1% in 1976. ($8.2m; in 197i. During April 1977,
During 1976 Ford's car salesdropped5% Ford cut its car output by 47% to only
to 212,000cars a 15.6%shareof the 3,502. The Sao Paulo based motor
market. Truck salesrose from 1I 5,000 industry had sacked around 5,500 car
workersby April 1977.
t o 1 1 6 O 0 0a. 2 3 . 7 %m a r k e ts h a r e .
Beset by inflation, and the general
During the early 1970s, Ford invested
Ford had been expandingits investment economic recession,the Argentine car
heavriy in latin America, adding some
in Brazilbefore 1975.Productionoffour market fell by 15%in 1975,and a further
360,000 squarefeet to their facilitiesin
cylinder enginesbeganin 19'14,following massive25% in 1976. Ford have just
I 973, and 1.4 million sq ft in 1974.
completion of engine and castingplants been holding their sharein this shrinking
Capitalexpenditureshave fallen since,to at Taubate.
During 1974, stampingand market . . . but ArgentinianFord workers
$47min 1975and $33min t976.
assembly capacitieswere increased.A did not.
By 1976,6.2%of all Ford'ssaleswerein new tractor manufacturingand assembly
1972 1976
latin America,and this represented
7.2% complex startedproduction in 1976 , Market Share
of Ford'stotal profits.
aimed at the healy tractor segmentof Cars
29,09s 19,760
the fourth larsesttractor market in the Units sold
Ford Brazil
West. tn 19'l6- too, Ford of Brazil began Market Share
14.8% 15.2%
Brazil is the largestand most important shipping enginesto Japan, where Toyo Trucks
vehicle market in [:tin America. For Kyogo rnanufacturespick-up trucks that Units sold
18,900 13,104
the ten years till 1975 the Brazilian car are then exported to Ford US for sale Market
Share
29-3%
27.3%
market grew at an average20% a year. in the UnitedStates.
Ford
also
has
an
Argentinian
subsidiary
In 1975 the whole Brazilianeconomy
suffered a sharp decline, petrol prices Ford has been operatingin Brazil since Transax, which is the local industry's
between 1925 and 1927 three primary sourceof axles.
rose by more than 7 5% and the car 1920
market grew only 3%. In 1976 it grew new assemblyplantswere built. In 1967,
jusl 5%, and the signsare that 1971 wlll Ford took over Willys Overlanddo Brazil Venezuela
show a fall in the marketof 10 to 157o. the secondlargestmanufacturer
of cars Venezuela'spopulation although relaFord is the third largestmanufacturerin and trucks in the country, with more tively small at | 2.6 million is seenas
Brazil, after Volkswagen and General than 3000 dealers.9000 workers and one of the richestmarketsfor car makers
Motors.
threeassemblvolants.
in all tatin America.' (Financial Times
62
'
-:,
:.
f)
;rl:
.:.:
:'
'Brightest spot on the South African
rnotor industry scene'.is how the South
African newspapetThe Cltuen described
Ford's Cortina assembl)'plant at Port
Elizabethin August 1977.Ford hasbeen
sellingcars in South Africa since 1928,
masbut in l96l , afier the Sharpeville
sacre and the South African withdrawal
from tlie Comrnonwealth.their investnlcnt was steppedup. The Government,
in an attempt to insulateSouth Africa
from external economic and political
pressure, introduced a local content
plan, restrictingthe impori of cars,providing tariff protection for locally producedparts,and awardingbonusimpod
permits to firms usingmore locally made
partsin their cars.
As a response,Ford announcedplans to
build a new engineassemblyand machine
plant, costing$1 I .2million. The complex
at Port Elizabethcurrently producescars in the higher gradesbetween 1972 and In 1973 Ford justified its collaboration
and trucks, and Ford is now the iargest 1971. Yet the majority of black Ford- with apartheidby sayingthat industrialmotor manufacturerin South Africa. It workers are paid only 50% above the isation in South Africa could bring social
absolute bare changes that would benefit all racial
has a market shareof about 20%, and its Poverty Datum Line
1976 sales, which were not especially minimum for survival.This works out at groups. After the massacresin Soweto
about !20 a week for a family of five. and the other Af;ican and Coloured
high, totalled $2S8million.
In 1976 a white family of four living on townships, this position is increasingly
Ford is very sensitiveabout its presence f,74 a week got headlines
in June 1977,
and the'house- untenable.Nevertheless,
in South Africa, and makes a greatplay wife of the year'award from the Johan' shareholdersat Ford's general meeting
'progressive'labour
policies.In May nesburg Srar. Subsequently,doctors re- rejecteda call for Ford to shut down its
of its
of 1977, togetherwith other US com- commended additions to the family's South African operations, and cease
'Mani'deficient'.
paniesin South Africa, it signeda
buttressing the apartheid government.
diet asit was
festo' on black employment practices.
The proposal to sever links with South
of Collaboration
The Manifestocallsfor non-segregation
Africa, sponsoredby severalchurch and
'progressive'
eating and work facilities,equal and fair The real reason for Ford's
religiousgroups.was counteredwith the
practices,
employment
equal pay and labour practicesis revealedin its Annual
old argument that Ford could do more
'The
an increasein the number of Blacks in Reoort for 1972.
demandfor skilled for race relations in South Africa by
managementand supervisorypositions. woikers and techniciansof all kinds is
remainingthere.
In an interview in The llorld before it growing faster than the supply. Since
Other US companieshave in fact pulled
was banned, Ford's public relations whites are fully employed the coloured
out - Polaroidbeing the most notable
and
African
must
be
inDoDulation
manager said that the principles were
creasingly depended upon to fill such example.But Ford is determinedto stay
nothing new to Ford, and "as far brck as
positions.'This is why Ford petitioned as long as it is profitableto do so. The
l97l our company introduced equal
the Minister of Labour to havethe ouota alacrity with which it pulled out of Chile,
compensationand fringebenefitsfor all."
fur the prupurlion oi black woikers lndia and Peru when conditionsdidn't
This is true as far as it goes.The figures allowed in Port EliZabeth raised from suit it shows how fast it can move if it
wantst0.
do show an increasednumber of Blacks 55%to 76%for Ford factories.
2.11.76). The Venezuelan economy,
cushionedby large oil exports, has not
been immune from the fluctuations of
the world economy,but it haspulled out
of recessionfaster than the rest of the
conilnent.
In 1975 the Venezuelanmotor industry
lost around $28m, and in 1976 nearly
prrceregulations.
$50m.Strictgovernment
plus credit restrictionson the purchaseof
new passengercars are hitting the big
three US motor manufacturers,who
between them account for some85% of
all cars assembledin Venezuela.Ford
claimeda lossof $10.7min 1975.
The Venezuelangovernmentis trying to
impose increasesin the locally-manu- mous investment incentives. By 1975
factured content of vehicles,from 58% Ford was selling 34,700 cars, a 14.9%
in 1977 to 90% by 1985. Its detailed share of the market. The next year the
development plan calls for outlays of Mexicancar market fell some l4tA%.and
about $465m, largely by the car firms, Ford car salesfell to 22,800 bringing
and the creation of about 20.000 new its sharedown to 11.4%.Trucks,however
jobs in the industry. The US companies continued to grow - from 23,166 in
are claiming they cannot possiblyafford 1975 to 24,360in 1976.This despitethe
this investmentunless price restrictions fact that the truck market fell 10%.Ford's
are lifted - but the Venezuelansovern- marketsharerosefrom 19.8%to 23.2%.
ln('nl believes that parent codpanies
are earning money on Venezuelansales Ford fuia-Pacific
while local affiliates accumulate book- 'Asia-Pacificautomotive operations is the
keepinglosses.
smallest component of Fond's interBy 1977,Venezuela'seconomicfortunes national car and truck grcup. However
had recovered,and the car market was the region'svast size,growingpopulation
showing a rise of more than 12%. With and significant reservesof natural resourtwo major aluminiumprojectsunder way, ces provide the potential for rapid ecothe country is set to be one of the largest nomic growth and substantiallyimproved
producersin the world. ln a personal vehiclessales.'(Annual Report 1974).
visit, Henry Ford Il said that Ford was
With a third of the world's population,
interestedin the possibility of using
Venezuelanmade aluminium for liehter but only 2% of rts cars,the Asia Pacific
v e h i c l e st o b e m a n u f a e r u r ei dn r h ; U S region seemed ripe for exploitation b1,
in the yearsto come. He announcedan Ford in the late 1960sand early 1970s.
The areaoffered a vastly underemployed
$l8m investmentin expansionof Ford population, very low wage rates. and
facilitiesin 197U.
govdinments such as those tn South
ln 1975 Ford had retail car salesof Korea. the Philioinnesand Taiwanwho
25.500 up liom 1974s23,200which would use miliiary force to ensure a
was 29% of the nrarket.Truck salesin docilework force.
1 9 7 4 w e r e 1 2 , 1 0 0 o r 3 1 . 8 % 'o f t h e
m a r k e t .S a l e sr o s e t o 1 6 . 1 0 0i n 1 9 7 5 . Ford Asia-Pacific.organisedin 1970,
coordinated subsidiariesin Australia.
ln 1976total saleswere3l ,l 78.
Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand. the
Philippines.Thailand, Singapore,Taiwan
I\dexico
and dealerassemblers
in Korea.Indonesia
In 1965 Ford began manufacturingcars andMalaysia.
andtrucksin Mexico,undera government
approved programme.At this time, the ln 1912 Ford Philiooines
introducedthe
Mexican governmentwas r.lfferingenor- Fiera the Ford veislonof the 4 ovlinder
64
1300cc 'asian car'. Basedon a simple
cab-andchassisformat. and availablein
a wide variety of body configurations.
Fiera componentsareproducedby more
than 150 suppliers in the Asia-Pacific
region. Body parts are made in the
Philippines.
enginesin KoreaandTaiwan,
and axlesand transnrissions
in Indonesia.
The allocationof componentproduction
is controlledsolell bi Ford.Whena local
plant beginsmanufacturingralher than
importinga component.the priceof that
part is deleted fronr the price of the
complete kit needed to assemblethe
vehicle. The deleted price is far lower
than the price of the part when it is
imported. A part nray cost $200 to
import
but the assenrbly package
without tliat part nral be only $60
cheaperthan the completekit. Assuming
that the imported price reasonably
reflects the cost of the part, then the
differenceof $140 is transferredas profit
to the parent compan! althoughthere is
n o a c l u ae
l x c h a n goef s , ' 0 d r
Ford Philippineswas establishe
d in 1967,
and Ensite Philippinesin l97l . The main
task of this compan)'was to raisefunds
for the stampingplant at Marivelesin the
Philippines. This factory. which has a
capacity of 70,000 vehicles a year,
employs only 700 workers.ir an area
where unemploymentis virtually 50%. It
startedproductionin late 1974,anduses
sheetmetal imported from Japanto make
bodies, including Cortina bodies.During
1976, 15,000setsof Cortinadoorswere
exported to England. Body parts are
alsoexportedto Australia,New Zealand.
Taiwanand Singapore.
In Taiwan,Ford boughta 70%interestin
the Uo Ho Motor Companyfrom Toyota
in 19'72.as Jaoanwithdrewfrom Taiwan
asSino-Japaneie
relationsinrproved.
Between 1968 and 1974 Ford's salesin
the Asia-Pacific region had increased
150%, and in 1974 they rosea further
l1%. ln 1974 Ford predicted a 36%
increasein the auto market (excluding
Japan)between1975and 1980.However,
i975 saw a decline in the car market
(excluding Japan) of 2%. and Ford car
salesdown by 8%. 1976 was evenworse,
and Ford salesfell by $4 m.
Ford Australia
especiallyfrom Japan,and an attempt to
increase local production by imposing
Australia is Ford's principal marketing local-contentstricturesand import tariffs
and manufacturingcentre in the region, is under way. Previoussuch attemptshave
and the managementof most of the beennotably unsuccessful.
subsidiariesin the area is Australian.
It was in 1925 that Ford of Canada Ready built imports as % of new
establishedan assemblyplant at Ceelong registations
in Victoria, and eventoday the ownership
1974 31.8
of many of the Ford companiesin the
1973 14.3
area is via Ford of Canada and Ensite
1972
8.5
Ltd. of Canada- both of courseowned
finally by Ford.
ln 1976 Ford of Australia reDorteda net
Retail Sales in Australia: Ford cars and profit of A$22.5m,a record,and almost
A$4m higher than in 1975. Since 1970
trucks
saleshad risenby $397m to $776m.
Cars
Trucl<s %
%
and hasseveralcompetingmakesat once.
Salestargetsare 1750 Fiestasa year, and
700 to 1000 Cortinas a year, plus an
increase in the 2000 or so Mustangs,
Bobcats and Monarchs from the US
thal Hiscohavebeenselling.
Ford is the only American major which
has no direct capital stake in a Japanese
motor company. General Motors has a
minority interest in Isuzu, Chrysler a
holding in Mitsubishi Motor Company.
In the late 1960s Ford had merser talks
with Toyo Kyogo.but thesebrole down
over the size of the Ford shareholdins
under the merger.Toyo Kyogo standl
midway between the two top Japanese
car makers, Toyota and Nissan,which
1976
103,936 22.4 26,360 r9.1
are too powerful to admit foreigncapital
t975
101 AOO 21.'.l 24,'100 20.3 Ford Japan
1974
108,700 23.0 22,300 19.s " . . . what burns me up is that I can't go participation, and the smaller weaker
into Japan.We can't build, we can't sell, companieswhich are increasinglymoving
By August 1977,Ford,had gainedmarket
we can't service,we can't do a damn into the orbit of the American motor
leadership,for the first time since the
industry.
thing over there." (Henry Ford II)
1950s.
Japan is the only major western car The links with Toyo Kyogo were not
In 1975 Ford employed 12p00 workers
market that Ford has not yet penetrated completely severed,and the company
in Australia in the following plants:
to any significantextent, but since 1973 manufacturesthe Courier lisht truck for
Homebush,Sydney (assembly);Geelong,
it has been taking steps to try and alter Ford. which is imported into the US,
Victoria (foundry); Ballorat, Victoria;
th^is.In 1974 it set up a subsidiaryFord in a 1.8 litre versionmanufacturedentirelv
Broadmeadows,Victoria (assembly);and of Japan,
capitalised-at
Y250m io take in Japan, and a 2.3 litre model. using
Eagle Farm, Queensland (assembly).
care of Ford sales,and the unusedplant enginesexportedfrom Ford Brazil.
Homebush assembledthe Escort. and at Yokohama
wasrefurbished
asa 'hbmo- The microcomputers that control fuel
Eagle Farm the Falcon. Ford also sells
logation' centre, to monitor Japanese emission,re-cyclingratio, ignition
timing
the Fairlane,Cortinaand LTD models.
regulationson emissron control., and and other functions in Ford's
1978
ensurethat imported vehiclesconcurred. models are manufactured
in
Japan
bv
Expansion
ln 1974 the retail salesof Ford built cars Toshiba.
were
6,800, comparedto 6000 the year
ln 1975, Ford Australia produced its
two millionth car. The iasting plant before. Clearly these numbers are [iny, Ford Mddle Fast and Africa
in terms of Ford's volumesof production
at Geelong completed a modernisation but comparedto the total number ln 1975 a new subsidiarywas formed,
programme,and the Homebushassembly
of foreign cars imported into Japan. Ford Mid-Eastand Africa, Inc, 'to develop
plant was expanded.Salesof the new
less than 40,000 a year. they are nor markets that have a common product
Escort assembledfrom kits imported insignificant.
interestand a capabilityof tradingwith
lrom Halewood, UK, were a notable
each other.'The most important markets
In 1975 Ford signed a salesagreement
success.
covered by the group are Morocco,
with Hisco, a subsidiary of Honda,
ln 1976, Ford announceda three vear
Japan'sfourth largestcar maker. kr 1977 Pakistan, Turkey, Senegal and Ghana,
several of which have dealer-assemblv.
$77m programme for product deveiop- this agreement
was brought into action,
ment, towards 'an all-Australiancar' - a
and
there are subsidiaries
in Egypt and
with the import of Cortina Ghias from
replacementfor the Falcon.ln May 1977
the UK, and 1.6 litre Fiestasfrom Ger- South Africa.
a new A$82m assemblyplant outside
many. The carswill be distributedby 100 The South African companvaccountsfor
Sydneyto assembleFalconsand Fairlanes of Honda's
sub-dealers
throughoutjapan. almost half the salesin ihis-group Ford
was announced.Its initial caoacitv will This
is not the full Honda dealernetwork. of South Africa is discussedelser,vhere
in
be 30,000 unirs a year. with possible
but nevertheless
will give the two carsa this report. The further developmentof
expansionto 100,000 a year.
bigger nationwide coveragerhan any F o r d ' s M i d . E a s t p e n e t r a r i o n ' d e p e n d s
The Australian market has been in- other importedcarsexceptthosebouglit aboveall on political developments
in the
creasingly penetrated by imports
by Yanase,which specialises
in impolrs area.
65
Halewood(England)
F'inalassemblyEscort.
Trim production for Escort,Cortina,Transit,
A/D/N Seriestruck ranges.
Fuel tanksfor Lscort.
Stampingplant producesbody panelsfor Escort
Taunus, Cofiina, Capri, Granada,Transit,
A/D/N SeriesTruck ranges.
Transmissionsfor Escort, Cortina, Taunus,
Capri, Granada, Transit, A/D/N Series
Truck ranses.
Enginegear wheelsfor Escort,Cortina,Capri,
Granada,Transit,A/D/N Seriestruck ranges.
Suspensioncomponents for Escort, Cortina,
Capri,Granada,Transit,A/D/N SeriesTruck
ranges,
Langley (England)
Final assemblyA/DiNiR Series commercial
vehicles.
componentsfor
Machiningaxle and suspension
vehicles.
Transit,A/D/N/R Seriescommercial
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Assembly Taunus and Transcontinental Truck
ranges.
Antwerp (Belgium)
Ford Tractor, rear axle and transmission production. Final assemblyTractors.
Basildon (England)
[iord Tractor cngine production, hydraulic
heavy equipment. Irinal assembly Tractors.
Forgings firr brake and transmission components for l.scort, Taunus, Capri, Granada
and Transit.
Gear components for Fiesta.
Aluminium die castings for cngines installcd in
llscort, Taunus, Capri, Granada and Transit.
Die cast transaxle casingsfor Fiesta.
Cork (lreland)
Irinal assembly I-scort, Cortina.
Dagenham (England)
Basildon (England)
Irinal assembly Cortina and lricsta models, Trim
Frocesses enginc parts, front covcrs, valve
production for Lscort, Cortina, Transit,
rockers, carn followers, water pump assembA/D/N Series truck rangcs, Fuel tanks tbr
lies tbr Kent, Essex, O.H.C. and F iesta
Cortinaand Granada.
parts
lbr
Dorsct
and
ranges.
engine
Similar
Stamping plant produccs body panels tbr
\ ork eommcrcirl vehielc cnginr. rangcs.
Escort, Fiesta, Cortina, Taunus, Capri,
Radiator assembliesfor Escort, Iriesta,Cortina,
Granada, A/D/N Series Truck rangcs.Wheel
Capri, Granada, Transit, A/D/N ScriesTruck
production fo: Escort, Capri, Cortina,
ranges.
Granada and Transit.
Suspension and rear axle components fbr
L-nginc production fbr Fiscort,('ortina, Taunus,
Escort, Cortina, ( apri, Granada A/D/N
!icsta, Capri, Granada, Transit, A/D/N
SeriesTruck rangcs.
Seriestruck ranges.
Enginc parts also produced tbr abovc models.
Belfast (Northern lreland)
I:orgings for Iiscort, Cortina, Capri, Granada,
Carburettor and distributor production for all
Transit, A/D/N Series truck ranges. Suspenpetrol
used
engines.
Units
Ford
European
sion components.
in Escort, Fiesta, Cortina, Taunus, Capri, Iroundry production of engine castings for
G r a n a d a ,T r u n s i t a n d A - S e r i c \ .
Fiscort, Fiesta, Cortina, Taunus, Capri,
Granada, Transit, A/D/N Seriestruck ranges.
Bordeaux (France)
C3 Automatic Transmissionstbr [iscort, Cortina, Duren (West Germany)
Taunus, Capri, Granada and Transit. C3 Rear axlc production for Escort, Taunus,
Automatics also shipped to USA for instalCortina, Capri, (lranada and Transit. Wheel
lation in Pinto and Mustang ranges.
hubs fbr Escort, Taunus, Capri, Granada and
produces
transmissions for all
Transaxle Plant
Transit.
Fiestas.
Cologne Mest Germany)
Final assembly of Capri and Granada models.
Trim for Capri, Cranada, Escort and Taunus.
F'uel tanks for Granada.
Chrome plating of bumpers fbr I')scort, lriesta,
Capri, Taunus, Granada and'l'ransit.
Plastic parts for Escort, Fiesta, Clapri, ('ortina,
Taunus, Granada and Transit. Lngine
production for Taunus, Cortina, Capri,
Granada and Transit.
Engine parts fbr Fiesta.
Engines also supplied to USA for Pinto and
Mustang.
Suspcnsion transmission and brake componcnts
for Escort, Taunus, Capri, Granada and
Transit.
Enfield (England)
Instrumcnts, t.uel gauge sender units, water
temperature gauge sender units, engine
spark plugs for Escort, Fiesta, Cortina,
Taunus, Capri, Granada, Transit, Ai D/N
SeriesTruck ranges.
Genk (Belgium)
Irinal assembly Taunus and Transit models.
Trim production for Escort, Taunus, Transit.
lrucl tanks for Taunus.
Road wheels for Escort, l"iesta, Capri, Taunus,
Granada, Transit.
Stamping plant produces body panels for
Escort, [riesta, Taunus, Cortina, Capri,
Granada, Transit, A/D/N Sericstruck ranges.
Leamington(England)
Foundry productionof enginecomponentsfor
I;iesta, Kent, Essex,O.H.C., Dorset,York
engineranges.
Brakepartsibr Lscort,Cortina,Capri,Granada,
Transit,A/D/N SeriesTruck ranges.
Transmissionhousings for Escort, Cortina,
Capri,Granada,A/D/N SeriesTruck ranges.
Lisbon (Portugal)
liinal assembly of Escort, Cortina, Capd,
Granada,Transitand D-Seriestruck ranges.
Saarlouis(WesternGermany)
l ' i n a la s s e m b lEy s c o r t F
. i e s t aC
. apri.
Trim productionfor Escort,Iriesta,Capri.
Fu e l t a n k sf o r F s c o r t l.-i e s t aC
, apri.
Stamping plant produces body panels for
Escort, Fiesta, Taunus, Cortina, Capri,
Granada,Transit,A/D/N Setiestruck ranges.
Southampton(England)
IrinalassemblyTransit.
Body assembly for A and S-SeriesTruck
tanges.
Stamping plant produces body panels for
Transit, A/D/N Series truck range and
Corlina.
Swansea(South Wales)
Rear axle production for Escort, Cortina,
Capri, Granada, Transit, A/D/N Series
Truck ranges.
Brake componentsfor Escort,Cortina, Capri,
Granada,Transit,and A-Seriescommercial
vehicles.
Gearbox production for A/D/N SeriesTruck
ranges.
Treforest (South Wales)
for all Ford petrol engines.
Sparkpluginsulators
Valencia(Spain)
Final assemblyFiesta.
Trim Droductionfor Fiesta.
Stampingplantproducesbody panelsfor Fiesta.
Fiestaengineproduction.
Woolwich (England)
Engine parts for Escort and Cortina models.
Transmissionparts for Escort,Cortina,Capd,
Transit,A/D/N Seriestruck ranges.
Wuelrath(WesternGermany)
partsfor Fiesta.
Transmission
Suspension
and steeringcomponentsfor Escort
Fiesta,Taunus,Capri,Granadaand Transit.
67
Prospects
"There are too many car manufacturersfighting over the world market."
tn j974 the world'smotor manufacturers billion is to be spent in the USA by
v,':r' faced with the unthinkable.After 1985 to downsize the model raneesof
:hc previous year's record figures, sales lhe big three car makers.A toial of
plunlureted,and cars startedto pile up nearly iTbillion will be invested by
in the parking areas of Detroit and motor makers in Europe between now
Woifsburg.
a n d1 9 8 2 .
This apparentlyhealthy situation is only
s the recessiondeepenedaround the
zr.
skin deep, for most of the new investworld, the stockpilesof cars grew, and ment is not going into new manufacturb"v 1975 practically every car manufac- ing capacity, but into raising producturer had imposed short time working tivity
or refining engines and compo:rid had got rid of large numbersof nents
to improve fuel economy and
Ford
workers. ln l914
shed 50,000 exhaust
emissions. The fundamental
workers, British Leyland got rid of problems of overcapacitythat
emerged
the
Volkswagen
factories
2u,000 and as
during the recessionhave still not been
shut down migrant workers were sent solved. There are too
many car nanub r e k t o M o r o c c oa n dT u r k e y .
facturersfighting over the world market,
The two years of recession, <ieeper and the prospectsfor real growth in the
than any car manufacturer's worst nearfuturearefar from certain.
nightmares, were traumatic for the Unemployment in the OECD area, the
whlle industry. Even previously suc- leading industrial nations is currently
cesstul Volkswagen looked over the at l6.3million and expected to rise.
edgr:of bankruptcy,andChrysler,smallest Growth in plant and machinery investof the American big three, was driven ment will rise only moderatelyin most
deel:rinto the red. For firms like British countriesin 1978,and the US economy,
Leyland,it meantdisasterand rescueby saddled with an enormous trade deficit
will grow more slowly in 1978 than it
lhe state.
did in 1977. Forecasters
are predicting
l;,-'r the strongermotor companiesthe that US car saleswill fall by 6% in 1978.
*orst is apparently over. Profits are Japan's growth is expected to be just
reaching new records, despite the fact 1%, Europe's under 3%. 'Only major
ihat salesarf strllbelowtheir 1973peaks, new pump priming can prevent Europe,
and most manulhcturersare enteringthe Japan and Canadafrom slipping to the
198th with new model ranges.Invest- brink of recessionby the end of the
rnenls are being stepped up. Over $50- year,' wrote Business l|eek at the end
Poppetfoto
Iii
f
!sN
$
of 1977. Yet pump priming is the last
thing that most governments,fearful
of renewedinflation. are about to undertake.
What this means for the motor manufacturers is that any growth in the car
market from its present levelsis highly
speculative, and that competition is
going to be more fierce than everbefore.
Ford, with itS integrated production
and the related economies of scale,
productionand marketand its aggressive
ing techniques,is in a very"strong competitive position. The addition of the
Fiesta and the luxury Granada means
that it is competing in Europe over the
full model range threateningnot only
the popular car producersbut also the
luxury car makers.
It is preciselyin periodsof depressedor
stagnant demand that Ford is most
dangerousto other makers. Their competitive edgeis such that Ford can sell all
the carsit can produce - when the market is not growing fast this is at the
expense of other manufacturers.Ford
has the added advantagesof accessto
Americancapital,its sheersizecompared
to its Europeancompetitorsand the fact
that it is not tied to any one European
country.
The companiesthat have emergedfrom
the recessionin worse shape than they
enteredit are going to be hit evenharder
in the nearfuture.This must meanfurther
closuresand redundancies
asthe industry
is reorganisedin the interestsof capital.
Already rumours are rife that British
l,eyland plans to axe a quarter of its
workers. In the short term it will mean
constant pressureby the employers on
wage levels, productivity and flexibility
of labour, and workers' organisation.We
can confidently predict that Ford will
be in the forefront of this employers'
offensive.
Ford workershaveprovedtheir militancy
and organisationalability at plant levelin
the past. Only by extendingtheir fightback on internationallinescan they resist
the depredationsof what has now become the most global of global corporatlons.
68
Be\non H.
R o t hs c h i l dE .
B a r n e tR . & M u l l e r
Demaris O.
\ader R.
HerndonB.
Burlingame R.
Braverman H.
Turkel S.
$ alker C. & Guest
Chinoy E.
S e i d l e rE .
VauriceM.
Automotive Task Force
TGWU
A\,lPO Japan-Asia
Quarterly Review
HU Y.S.
Workingtbr I ord
ParadiscLost
Global Reach
Dirty Business
U n s a f ea t A n ] S p e e d
( S e c o n dc d i t i o n )
Fo r d
Henry Irord
Labor and Monopol-v'Capital
Working
\{an on thc Asscnrbll Line
The Automobile\l orker and
t h c A m e r i c a nD r e a n r
Let'sCall it I'iesta
S h i f t W o r k : E c o n o n r i cB e n c 'ilt s
a n d S o t ' i a lC o s t s
R c v i e \ \ 'o f t h e N o r t h A m c r i c a n
Motor lndustr!
F ord WageClainr
I r r e cT r a d e Z o n e sa n d
I n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o no f A s i a
'fhe
Impact of U.S.lnvcstnrcnt
in F-uropc
. ' 1 l l e uL a n c
l intagc Books
.9rntc.ll<t ,Sllttrsrlr NY
I I ar 7tL'r s l,lo ga: irtt' Press
t913
t911
1 9 11
197'1
Bantatrt Rooks
('assell
Quadran glt'
Montltly Reyier Press
Penguin
Harrard
1973
1970
1910
1976
197-i
1 9 s2
Doubleda.t
P a t r i Lk S t e p h e t t s
1955
l9l(,
I LO Gerterc
Canadiurt( )oyentntettt
1914
D(pL. ol Industrl
T(; lt't
Pac iJ i c-..1sia R t'sou rc t's
Cetttrt,, Tokt ct
| 911
|911
Praegt,r
1 9 13
.\nd l-'ord .\eu's, Mornirtg Star, Socialist htorker. Socialist Challcngc..\etdint.
1917
l.abrryr h t e e k h .
,SO L RCI.,S O F F URTHER IN FO RMA TI OA'
Ford Workers Group Dagenham, and Ford Langlev Action Group. Roont 165.
l l C l e r k e n w e l lC l l o s e L
. ondon ECI
B r g F l a m e ( F o r d G r o u p ) L i v e r p o o l ,l l 7 W a v e r t r e eR o a d , L i v e r p o o l
Conferenceof Socialist Economists. cio Dept of Economics. Birkbeck College,
--15
G r e s s eS t r e e t .L o n d o n W 1
C a m p a i g nA g a i n s tt h e A r m s T r a d e . 5 C a l e d o n i a nR o a d , L o n d o n N l 1
\ A R M I C ( N a t i o n a l A c t i o n / R e s e a r c ho n t h e M i l i t a r y I n d u s t r i a lC o m p l e x ) . 1 5 0 1
C h e r r yS t r e e t .P h i l a d e l p h i a
Pa l9l0l USA
\ l u t h e r J o n e s , 6 0 7M a r k e t S t r e e t ,S a n F r a n c i s c oq, 4 1 0 5 U S A
E u r o p e a nM e t a l W o r k e r sF e d e r a t i o n .B r u s s e l s .
RL,D NOTES PUBLISHES..
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M o t o r l n d u s t r y C r i s i si n B r i t a i n 1 9 7 5 - 6
i ) e t a i l e d a n a l y s i so f w o r k e r s ' s t r u g g l e sa n d e r n p l o y e r s 'r e s p o n s e
' W e a r e n o t c a s u a ll a b o u r ! '
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P l us
Red Notes Ford Archive
the pastten years
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e g a i n s tl a y - o f f s
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Thanksto:
S o l i d a r i t y . 1 2 3 L a t h o m R o a d L o n d o n E 6 , w h o p r o d u c e t h e S o l i d a r i t vM o t o r
t s u l l e t i ns e v c r l lt i m e sa y e a r .
ContemporaryArchive on Latin America.I CambridgeTerrace,London NWI
CorporateDataExchange.198Broadway,Roonr707. New York 10038.USA.
EuropeanMetalworkersFederation,Brussells
Belgiunt.
N A C L A ,P O B o x 5 7 , C a t h e d r aSlt a t i o nN
. e wY o r k 1 0 0 1 5 U
. SA.
( r , p y r i g h t o ( ' o u n t c r I n f o r n r a t i o nS e r v i c c s
PamphletNo.1:
'Freedom'
Chile:Economic
and
PoliticalRepression
0rlottJ,, Le t t li,'r
This in-dcpth anallsis by r ii)rnler leading
official of thc Allcndc covernment of ('hilc
demonstrates thc necessar! rclationship bet \ \ c e n a n e c o n o r r r i cd e v e l o p n t e n tm o d e l u h i c h
b c n c f i t s o n l y a r i c h m i n o r i t - va n d t h e p o l i t i c a l
terror \\,hiL:h has reigned in Chilc sincc thc
o v e r t h r o \ o f t h c A l l e n d er e e i m e .
$0.s0
PamphletNo.2:
The lnternationalEconornicOrder,
Part I
Orlarulo Lerelier and Michocl Mo.l.fitt
'fhc
parrphlct trrct's historicallr thc conflict
belueen the advlnccd clpitalist countriesand
the Third \\orld over the establishrneno
tf r
"nc$ intcrnlrtional economic ordcr". Special
rttention is plid to thc role ()l' thc I N. thc
N o n - l l i g n c c lr n o v r . n ' r c nat .n d O P I : ( .
s3.00
P a m p h l eNt o . 3 :
The Crisisof the Corporation
RichordJ. Barnet
The parnphlct dcscribes the poucr of thr
n l u l t i n a t i ( ) n l i lc o r p ( r r a l i l ) n s$ h i c h d o m i n i ] t c t h e
l - i S c c o n o n r l . B a r n c l s h o \ s h o $ t l l c r . l r o \ \ ' i h( r l '
r trt rI I t nr r r ,' n I l . r n (v i ' Jb l ] , . s u l r .i n . l l ( \ r r L l l \ '
c o n c e n t r a t i o no l c c o n o m i e a n d p o l i t i c l l p o u e r
i n a l c r r h a n d s .T h t ' r c s u l t .a c c o r d i n gt o B l r n c l .
i s a c r i s i sf o r d e n t o c r a c vi t s e l l .
$1.s0
PamphletNo..1:
Multinationalllanks in the Third World
Howarcllll. h'achtel
The prmphlet docurncnls ancl anrllzes the
g r o u t h o l T h i r d \ \ ' o r l dc i c b tb t p r i r r t e L I S - b r s e d
r n u l l i n a t i o n a lb a n k s a n d t h c i n ) p a c 1o t t h i s n c \ \
forln ol ind.btcdncss on thc politics and
e , , ' n u i l ) i !F , ' l i e i L . , , T
' l r i r . l\ \ , ' r l J r ' , ' u n l r r c \ .
53.00
SpecialReport:
BlackSouth Africa Explodes
C t ' l t t l ! . r t t t J ) , r n t a t i ,' n . S r ' r t i r ' c s .
Lttntlott
Blrck South Alrica l.rplodc's is rhe onll dctrilcd rccount {)l cvcnts in South Africl since
thc uprising uhich begrn in .lunc. 1976. in
S o u ' c t o .T h c r c p o r l c \ p o s e s t h c r r a l i t \ o l ' l i f e i n
thc Atrican to$nships. thc inlp:rct {}i South
A f r i c a ' sc c o n o n r i cc r i s i so n B l a c k s .a n d t h c w h i l r
r e g i n ! ' s d c p c n d c n c eo n l : u r o p e l n a n d A n l r . r i c a n
Ilntn cr.
s2.00
Bttlk quatttiti|s ttt Lliy ottttt at dilahlt uprtil
r:'tlu(tt. Plt,as(aclclS0 )5 postag( arkl
ltatldlinf, lot La(lt iteDt t))d(,tL'd
0rder lrom:
'l
r a n s n a t i o n aIl n s t i t u t e , | 9 0 1 Q S t . N W
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202)234-9382
Transnational Institute
20 Paulus Potterstraat, Amsterdam
1007 Holland
126 608