Economics
Ford Says UAW Contract Lifts U.S. Labor Costs Less Than 1.5%
- CEO Fields says pact gives automaker `staffing flexibility'
- Company to spend $600 million this year on worker bonuses
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Ford Motor Co. said its new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers will increase its U.S. labor costs by less than 1.5 percent annually by letting the company hire more low-cost workers and move production to factories in other countries.
The contract will raise Ford’s hourly labor rate, including wages and benefits, to $60 from $57, Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts and reporters on a call Monday. While closing the gap with General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s U.S. operations, Ford’s labor costs are still $8 to $10 an hour higher than those at U.S. factories of Toyota Motor Corp. and other international automakers, he said.