Temporary Layoffs At Avon Ford Plant

AVON, OH — Ford is planning to temporarily layoff more than 130 workers in Avon over the summer, according to multiple reports. Workers will be laid off from May 15 through Sept. 30, 2017.

Some believe the layoffs are the result of lagging sales for F-650 and F-750 trucks. The company had moved production of the trucks from Mexico to Ohio in August 2015. The move made headlines during the 2016 election cycle when then-candidate Donald Trump berated Ford for exporting labor to foreign nations.

Automotive News reports that the majority of impacted workers will be laid off voluntarily. There are conflicting reports of how much of their salary the workers will receive during their layoff stretch. Automotive News reports they will receive 75 percent of their normal salary while on leave, while the Chronicle is reporting the number to be closer to 85 percent.

The company is hoping demand for the trucks will pick up again in September, Automotive News reports. However, Crain's Cleveland reports that this type of temporary layoff, and more permanent layoffs, could become more common.

“Even though incentives are up, you’re seeing some production being taken out,” Mark Wakefield, managing director and head of the automotive practice at consultant AlixPartners, told Crain's Clevleand. “That shows some people are not assuming this is a speed bump or a plateau and there’s things to be adjusted.”

Dearborn-based Ford Motor Company saw sales of its perpetual cash cow F-Series pickups drop by 0.2 percent from a year ago. Ford sold 214,695 vehicles, with SUV sales seeing the only segment increase at 1.2 percent. The company’s Lincoln luxury brand’s sales dipped .9 percent, with 9,691 vehicles sold, the Detroit News reported.

Ford car sales dropped 21.2 percent, continuing an industry-wide trend of rapidly declining car sales for the year, the newspaper reported. Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service, said in a statement that truck sales still drove up Ford’s average transaction pricing.

If the temporary layoffs are a foreboding omen, it couldn't come at a worse time for the region. In March, US Steel announced it planned on shutting down a portion of its Lorain tubular operations plant. US Steel is one of Lorain County's largest employers, with 523 workers. The decision to shut down a portion of the plant left 58 employees in limbo. Some were transitioned to other parts of the factory, others were laid off permanently.

In a letter from local political representatives to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, it was revealed that approximately 1,000 Lorain County steelworkers have lost their jobs since 2015.

Scott Daniel, Patch, contributed to this report

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