Hyperdrive
Ford to Seek Flexible EV Production in Contract Talks With UAW
- Pursuing leeway in plan to build 2 million EVs a year by 2026
- Ford says its labor costs are $1 billion higher than US rivals
A worker fits wheel hub badges on a Ford automobile assembly line.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Ford Motor Co. will ask the United Auto Workers union for flexibility to reduce electric-vehicle production in case the US market for battery-powered cars lags behind expectations.
Negotiations open Friday for a new four-year contract for Ford’s more than 57,000 US hourly workers. And talks are expected to be contentious as the union seeks pay raises, a restoration of cost-of-living increases and job guarantees while the industry shifts to less labor intensive electric-vehicle production.