Showing posts with label automotive news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label automotive news. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2015
Aston Martin mulls opening a new facility in the USA, near to Mercedes to cement their recent partnership.
Aston Martin is considering a U.S. factory in Alabama to be near its industrial partner Daimler, the British sports car maker's CEO Andy Palmer told a U.K. car magazine Autocar.
Aston has had expressions of interest for a new factory from U.S. states and from countries around the world, including the U.K., Palmer told Autocar.
"It is not decided yet but clearly with our arrangement with Daimler it would make sense to look closely at the possible synergies of working close to them in Alabama," he told the magazine.
Daimler builds Mercedes SUVs at the Vance, Alabama, factory. Daimler has a 5 percent stake in Aston as part of a deal to supply the UK company with high-performance engines and electronic architectures.
Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that Aston has held talks with officials in several U.S. states about a factory to build its first crossover, which would be based on the all-electric, all-wheel-drive DBX concept unveiled at the Geneva auto show in March.
The production DBX could be based on the new Mercedes GLC unveiled as a concept at the Shanghai auto show earlier this month, reports have said.
Aston aims to boost annual vehicle sales to 15,000 from 4,000 last year. The company has limited room for growth at its only factory in Gaydon in central England.
Q1 dips amongst the launch of the Aluminium F-150, and a range of other new models for Ford.
Ford Motor Co., which has forecast a “breakthrough year” for itself after remaking a large swath of its global lineup, today said its first-quarter net income fell 6.6 percent to $924 million as the launch of its aluminum-bodied pickup cut production.
Ford said the F-150 introduction has gone so well that it is increasing its projections for North American profit margins slightly but that economic conditions in South America have been worse than expected.
Revenue in the quarter fell 5.6 percent to $33.9 billion.
“The first quarter was a good start to a year in which our results will grow progressively stronger as the new products we have been launching start to pay off,” Ford CEO Mark Fields said in a statement. “We are re-confirming that 2015 will be a breakthrough year for Ford.”
Chief among those new products is the redesigned F-150, which analysts say accounts for a majority of Ford’s profits. The truck went on sale at the end of 2014, but sales have been slow because the plant changeover process has kept it in short supply so far.
The F-150 and other introductions have reduced margins and contributed to a U.S. market share decline. But Ford said it now expects North American margins of 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent for the year, up from earlier guidance of 8 percent to 9 percent.
In the first quarter, Ford earned a pretax profit of $1.34 billion in North America, 11 percent less than the same period a year ago. Operating margins declined to 6.7 percent from 7.3 percent.
Ford’s U.S. vehicle sales in the first quarter rose 2 percent, but its market share fell half a point to 15 percent.
Job cuts
Last week, Ford confirmed plans to cut 700 jobs and eliminate a shift at a small-car plant outside Detroit as low gas prices dampen sales of the Focus and C-Max it builds there.
Brian Johnson, an analyst with Barclays Capital, estimated that reduced production cost Ford $450 million during the quarter, with the F-150 representing the bulk of that amount.
“We likely won’t have a true feel of profitability until at least the [third quarter], the first quarter when Ford will be fully ramped on F-150 production and when we will have a more accurate feel of demand,” Johnson said in a report Monday.
Overseas results
In South America, Ford reduced its first quarter loss by 63 percent to $189 million. It said full-year results are expected to be improved from a year ago, but not as good as it had estimated in January.
Its European loss shrunk 4.6 percent to $185 million. Ford lost $1.1 billion in Europe last year due largely to issues in Russia, a market that General Motors last month said it would largely abandon.
Ford was profitable in its Asia Pacific region, as well as Middle East and Africa.
Ford is introducing 15 new or refreshed vehicles this year, including three in the first quarter, after rolling out 24 in 2014. The Ford Edge crossover went on sale in March, and the Explorer is on the way this summer. It’s also in the midst of a major product offensive in China, where it last week showed a new SUV called the Everest and a version of the Taurus sedan designed specifically for that market, with massage units built into the rear seats.
Ford executives have said the product-launch schedule means the company will post stronger results in the second half of the year, when sales of the new vehicles begin to hit their stride.
“Since the recession, Ford has been spending on technology and expansion overseas in key markets. This year these risks will start to pay off,” David Kudla, CEO of Mainstay Capital Management in Grand Blanc, Mich., said in a report last week.
“We believe the new model launches around the world, particularly with the ramp-up of the F-150, are beginning to take effect and will provide a much needed jump start to the stock's performance this year.”
Nick Bunkley
General Motors Ignition Switch death claims extended by another seven sad victims.
General Motors’ ignition-switch compensation fund approved another seven death claims associated with ignition switch defects in its cars in the past week, bringing the total to 97 deaths, the office administering GM’s compensation fund said.
GM originally said it knew of only 13 deaths linked to the defect.
The office of attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing victim compensation on the automaker’s behalf, also approved 16 more injury claims, raising the total to 179 approved injury claims as of May 1.
Of the 179 approved injury claims, 12 are for serious injuries resulting in quadriplegia, paraplegia, double amputation, permanent brain damage or pervasive burn. The other 167 claims are for less serious injuries requiring hospitalization or outpatient medical treatment within 48 hours of the accident.
The deadline for victims to file claims was Jan. 31.
After GM recalled 2.6 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches last year, the automaker hired Feinberg to administer the victims compensate program.
The defective switches can move from the “run” position, which cuts power to the power steering, brakes and airbags.
A person seeking compensation must prove that the airbag did not deploy, and must show the defective switch was the primary cause of the crash.
Through Friday, GM had received 474 claims for deaths, 289 claims for catastrophic injuries and 3,579 claims for injuries requiring hospitalization. Feinberg’s office is still reviewing another 669 claims.
Hannah Lutz
Nora Naughton
Sunday, August 23, 2015
USA - FCA worker unfortunately dies whilst performing regular preventative maintenance.
An employee at Fiat Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly plant died accidentally this morning after being crushed. The UAW identified the victim as Donald Megge, 53, of Sterling Heights, Mich.
The union said Megge, a millwright and wastewater operator, died while performing regular preventative maintenance during a shift that started at 5:30 a.m. He was working alone and was discovered at about 6:30 a.m.
An FCA spokeswoman said the incident occurred in the on-site wastewater treatment plant that services the 3-million-square-foot plant where the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango are assembled.
The treatment plant is in a separate building from the assembly operations and production was not impacted.
The treatment plant is in a separate building from the assembly operations and production was not impacted.
"FCA US is deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took the life of an 18-year employee at Jefferson North this morning and our heartfelt condolences go out to his family," the company said in a statement.
"The safety of our employees is our first priority, and we will continue to work in cooperation with the authorities, including (Michigan job safety regulators), to investigate the circumstances surrounding this terrible tragedy."
Jefferson North, built in 1991, employs more than 4,600 people, including about 4,400 hourly workers.
“Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to the family, friends and all of those who worked with UAW member Donald Megge,” Norwood Jewell, UAW vice president for the union’s FCA department, said in a written statement.
Jefferson North is the same assembly plant where an autoworker stabbed one of his co-workers to death in a dispute over a woman in September 2012. The alleged assailant fled and took his own life nearby.
Larry P. Vellequette
USA - Ford removes Chicago plant managers amid sexual harassment investigation.
Ford Motor Co. has replaced the plant manager, human resources officials and labor relations officials at its Chicago Assembly Plant after a federal investigator found evidence to support allegations of rampant sexual harassment and racial discrimination against dozens of female employees there.
As many as eight managers have been removed from the plant within the last several months, a person with knowledge of the situation told Automotive News.
In addition, the plant’s bargaining chairman, Coby Millender, who is identified as one of the harassers in a federal lawsuit filed against Ford in November, was temporarily suspended by the automaker, UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said in a statement the union posted Tuesday on Facebook.
“The UAW and Ford Motor Company share a strong commitment towards eliminating sexual harassment and discrimination, of any form, in the workplace. Such conduct is unacceptable, it is not tolerated and there are policies in place to prevent such from occurring,” Settles said in the post.
Settles said the union has filed a grievance challenging Millender's suspension, which ended April 15. He said both Ford and the UAW are actively investigating the allegations.
The Times of Northwest Indiana reported the manager departures Monday. The paper said Millender had been removed from his position, which Settles said was inaccurate.
A Ford spokeswoman declined to say whether any personnel changes were made in connection with the lawsuit and investigation.
"Ford rotates the career assignments for employees based on the needs of the company,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “Any questions regarding the UAW should be directed to their team.”
Amended suit
The federal suit, originally filed by four women, was amended last week to name 33 female Ford employees who say coworkers and supervisors regularly groped them, attempted to have sex with them and either exposed themselves or showed them pictures of their genitals.
Some of the women say in court filings that they were denied overtime and other benefits when they rebuffed the men or reported the behavior to human resources and labor relations. One woman said she was suspended and then demoted from an $88,000-a-year supervisor’s job to an hourly position earning about $42,000 after she complained and encouraged co-workers to file similar complaints.
In February, an investigator from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said she found “reasonable” evidence to support complaints filed by 13 women who said they were harassed and in some cases disciplined or fired after they complained about the mistreatment, according to documents filed with the lawsuit.
Chicago Assembly has a history of sexual harassment allegations, with Ford paying some $19 million in 2000 to settle a lawsuit. The lawyer who filed that suit, Keith Hunt of Chicago firm Hunt & Associates, also represents the current group of plaintiffs.
As part of that settlement, Ford set up a hotline for workers to report harassment and discrimination. Many of the plaintiffs say they were told to stop calling the hotline after repeatedly filing reports.
No one answered the phone Tuesday at Local 551. Calls to numbers listed for Millender and the local’s president, Chris Pena, were not answered, and there was no way to leave a message.
Officials at UAW headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawsuit allegations
The lawsuit and EEOC complaints describe an environment in which supervisors frequently subject the women to lewd comments, nudity and pornography. They say supervisors frequently had sex with female subordinates on the roof of the plant and denied bathroom breaks and other accommodations for women who refused requests for oral sex and intercourse.
“Ford is aware of the ongoing discrimination and harassment which occurs on a daily basis in an open manner, such that it is observed by employees and supervisors, and has turned a blind eye toward it,” the lawsuit says.
One of the plaintiffs says Millender, the bargaining chairman, publicly identified her as “the complainer,” which led to sexual graffiti and phallic items being left in her work and lunch area.
Another woman said she was terminated but that Millender promised to get her job back if she had sex with him, and a third woman said Millender threatened to transfer her to a shift with a less desirable schedule if she refused an invitation to a “romantic lunch with him in his office.”
Another woman said she was terminated but that Millender promised to get her job back if she had sex with him, and a third woman said Millender threatened to transfer her to a shift with a less desirable schedule if she refused an invitation to a “romantic lunch with him in his office.”
About half of the plaintiffs are or were entry-level workers at Ford, having been hired since 2010, but the others joined the automaker as far back as 1977.
Nick Bunkley
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