Ford's Wixom Plant To Shut By Month's End

Ford's Wixom Plant To Shut By Month's End

by Correy Putton

The Ford Motor Co. said that its Wixom assembly plant will close on May 31. The Wixom plant, primarily built for Lincoln sedans and was once treated as one of the company's flagship factories, will be closed as part of Ford's turnaround plan. Additionally, the automaker, which lost $12.7 billion last year, has said that it will close 16 facilities and cut as many as 30,000 jobs by 2012.

At the plant, there are no outward signs to remind workers of the closure after its 50 years of existence in the industry. The atmosphere is business as usual - cars churning outside and workers busy with their tasks. Except for one scrawled on a nearby dry-erase board: "Hey hey hey goodbye. Good luck and good fortune to all."

The automaker's suburban factory in Detroit, which opened in 1957, is manufacturing Lincoln Town Cars. At present, the facility employs 1,100 employees. The plant has produced the Ford GT, Thunderbird, the Lincoln Continental and the Mark series, and it has also won numerous awards.

Workers at the Wixom plant say the history of building high-quality cars will continue until its last day and even after production stops. "Although there's disappointment, people are vigilant that they want to preserve the proud legacy of the Wixom Assembly Plant," said Phil Calhoun, the plant manager. He said that morale is high because workers were offered transfers to other facilities or one of several severance packages that included educational buyouts or retirement.

Calhoun noted workers also are proud of the traditional and performance parts assembled as well as the 6.6 million cars produced at the plant. The awards yielded in relation to the plant include four Motor Trend Car of the Year honors and being named one of America's Best Plants by Industry Week in 1990. While he called Wixom "Ford's crown jewel," the plant has fallen victim to shifting customer demands, fluctuations and the realities of global auto manufacturing.

At its employment peak in 1973, the plant employed nearly 5,500 workers. In 1988, it produced more than 280,000 vehicles. Last year, the Wixom plant produced about 42,000 cars consisting of the Town Car and the Lincoln LS. The LS ceased production after four months and the GT ceased after nine months.

The Town Car production will move to St. Thomas Assembly in Ontario, Canada, and with it, the process Wixom workers developed in the late 1990s to "stretch" regular Town Cars for extended sedans, limos and hearses. The cars, minus roofs and rear doors, are cut in half and a 12-inch patch is added. The plant makes about 26 of the long-wheel-base vehicles a day.

Mike Pettegrew said that he will follow production to St. Thomas, which makes the Mercury Grand Marquis. "I would've liked to see it go two more years - that's when I retire," said Pettegrew, a plant vehicle team manager who has been at Wixom for 14 of his 20 years with Ford. "It's probably the right thing to do. Both cars are off the same platform."

Alonzo Smith, a Wixom assembly worker for 18 years, said that he is going to a local plant that builds prototypes. He described Wixom as a "big happy family," but has no regrets. Of course, for him it is a little easier, since it is the place nine years ago he where met his future wife, Stefanie Harris, who likely will be going to the Dearborn Frame Plant. "I'm not disappointed - when one door closes, a lot of others open up," he said. "Ford gave everyone a chance to pick something else."

Michael Parsons, a group leader at the plant for 15 of his 16 and a half years with Ford, called the Wixom closing a "happy ending for everybody," though he said that was not the case when workers learned about it more than a year ago. The January 2006 announcement came after months of rumors and conflicting media reports. After workers shared their concerns with management, he said, communication improved.

"(They) said, 'We're going to try to let your people know before you see it in the media," said Parsons, who is going to work for Ford's Livonia Transmission Plant. "That made a big difference." Still, he said the plant closing hurts "like losing a friend." He is looking forward to the Wixom Legacy Celebration - a Saturday event designed to honor all who have worked at the plant during the past five decades. "There are a lot of good things to remember," he said.