Ford to close suburban St. Louis plant by mid-decade

Associated Press WriterHAZELWOOD, Mo. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. announced Friday it will close its suburban St. Louis plant by mid-decade, a move that would cost about 2,600 workers their jobs.

The Hazelwood plant makes Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicles. The plant, which opened in 1948, has about 2,400 hourly workers and about 240 salaried workers.

Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr learned of the closing Friday morning in a phone call from Ford. He said it will be a big blow for the community. He estimated the economic impact on the St. Louis area will be up to $400 million per year, and the ripple could cost another 10,000 people jobs at companies that supply items to Ford and businesses that cater to the plant's employees.

"We were really surprised," Carr said. "We were not anticipating this kind of move by Ford."

A news conference announcing the closing of the Hazelwood plant and others was shown on TVs inside the plant. United Auto Workers Local 325 president Jerry Foster said it was too much for some workers to watch.

"They're angry and they're disappointed," Foster said. "Some of the people just couldn't take it. They had to go to the restroom. They had tears in their eyes. It was devastating news, and they just couldn't take it."

Hazelwood economic development director Steven Anderson said the plant is expected to remain open until either 2005 or 2006. He said Ford hopes to keep both shifts working as long as possible.

"The good news is the cutbacks are not imminent," Anderson said. "That gives us a lot of time. That's a blessing by itself."

Missouri Department of Economic Development director Joe Driskill and state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations director Catherine Leaphart will meet with St. Louis area business and government leaders early next week, Gov. Bob Holden said. The governor will travel to Detroit to meet with Ford executives to try and persuade them to reverse the decision.

"My heart goes out to the 2,600 employees and their families who learned today that their futures are clouded by economic uncertainty," Holden said. "As governor, I promise these families that the state of Missouri will do everything in its power to ensure their economic security."

Officials at the United Auto Workers Local 325 were meeting at the plant and unavailable for comment Friday morning.

Four other plants will also be closed as Ford cuts 35,000 jobs, including 22,000 in North America. They are the Edison, N.J., assembly plant, the Ontario truck plant, Cleveland Aluminum, and Vulcan Forge in Dearborn, Mich. The company will drop four vehicles -- the Escort, Cougar, Villager and Lincoln Continental.

Ford plans no cuts at its Claycomo plant in Kansas City, which employs about 6,000 people.

For Ford, the need to restructure so severely represents a complete change from its position just a year ago, when it reported a $6.67 billion profit for 2000.

In the third quarter of 2001, Ford lost $692 million and when it releases its fourth quarter financial statement Jan. 17, it is expected to report its third straight losing quarter.

The automaker was hit hard in 2001 when it launched a $3 billion program to replace 13 million Firestone tires that were not recalled in the original recall that began in August 2000. The move resulted in the severing of Firestone's almost century-old relationship with Ford.

Ford officials also have blamed high marketing costs related to a fourth-quarter incentive war for its difficult financial position.

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