Ford to add 1,550 workers to the F-150 workforce

A total of 1,550 workers would be added to the workforce for building the new aluminium F-150 pick up truck as announced by Ford Motors on Wednesday.

Ford also says that nearly 300-500 union-represented workers will be promoted from the entry-level stage to the veteran worker stage giving a considerable boost to their wages by the end of the first quarter, a first for the company.

Ford, along with two other major U.S. automakers had reached an agreement with the United Auto Workers union in 2007 that underlined the wage terms for the workers. According to the agreement, new entry-level workers would be paid a lower wage than veteran UAW union workers in order to stay competitive with the automakers of the world.

900 out of the 1,550 jobs would be for the Ford’s truck plant in Kansas City while the rest would be divided between three stamping, auto parts and axle plants near Detroit.

According to the current contract terms, the entry-level laborers would be paid a wage of $15.78 per hour increasing 5 cents a year till it reaches $19.28 per hour. The veteran workers would be paid $28.50 according to the contract which expires later this year.