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NewsFord, UAW, two-tier pay, Ford wage

Ford new union deal will cost the company $600 million in Q4

Dec 01, 2015 02:22 AM EST

After a long negotiation with the United Auto Workers union, Ford finally agreed to give its workers better pay and benefit.

The new deal, however, will cause Ford a total charge of $600 million for their operating cost for the fourth quarter.

According to a report by the USA Today, the cost that Ford has to pay includes wage increase that the company had promise to deliver back on September 15, better health care and other sectors for its workers.

The company claims that all 53,000 of its hourly workers will enjoy a raise in accordance with the increasing cost of living in the country.

Based on the new agreement, Ford will also eliminate its two-tier wage system by stages in all of its plant within 8 years allowing entry-level workers to enjoy better salary and career progress in the future.

Even the deal that every worker is fighting for has also been granted by Ford where even the new entry-level workers will be able to enjoy the same health care benefit as the other.

Ford spokesperson told Chicago Sun-Times that the new deals also benefiting both sides as the UAW agreed to limit the labor cost increment by only 1.5 percent annually hence giving Ford a better control on its earnings forecast.

The new agreement will also allow Ford to provide its workers with a more flexible working hours and there will no longer be a cap on the amount of its workers making an entry-level salary.

The company CEO, Mark Field who announces the new agreement through a conference call told reporters that the company also give the company the right to move some of its plants to Mexico where the wage is lower.

Journal Sentinel reported that Field said in a statement that Ford is not restricted from sourcing products anywhere in the Ford world for sale in North America.

"At the end of the day, we have a contract that works for our employees and allows our UAW workers to continue to share in the success of the company", he said.

US biggest and oldest automobile company previously announces that it is expecting a maximum pretax profit of $9.5 billion for 2015. The company will also invest a total of $9 billion for improvement and expansion of its factory hence allowing the creation of more than 8,500 more factory jobs in the United States.

The latest agreement reached between Ford and UAW will also close the wage gap between the company and its competitor; General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler. Ford will be paying most of its worker an average of $60 per hour.