FORD MOTOR WORKS

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1933, Page 5

FORD MOTOR WORKS

NOW CLOSED DOWN

150,000 MEN OUT OF WORK.

(United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—-Copyright.)

DETROIT, January 27

The Ford Motor Company plants throughout the United States were *mit down to-day, throwing 150,000 men out of work because of a s'trjke of the employees' of Briggs’ Manufacturing C°y-> which manufactures bodies for new Ford -automobiles. While Briggs’ officials negotiated with their employees in an attempt to re-open the body works, Ford -himself laid a charge in the cours e o"f a trans-Atlantic interview with the '“London Evening (Standard” that “certain of -my, competitors are operating against me, supported by certain bankers, with the obiect -of preventing another Ford automobile from leaving the factory. They have succeeded, for a few hours, but I will fight them, and prove that production cannot be stopped.” Mr Ford’s associates here .admitted that the “Standard” interview was

"'-stnntially correct,' but refused to amplify it. Mr Ford later visited the Briggs plant where he conferred with the officials,

.Subsequently, notices were posted, announcing pay increases, which, it is ‘believed will prove satisfactory to th e strikers.

It is estimated that the Ford shut down is causing losses of approximately a million dollar* a day. None of the foreign Ford plants are affected however.

“ATTACK ON FORD INDUSTRIES.”

NO STRIKE SAYS MAGNATE

DETROIT, January 28

M r -Henrv Fo.rd stated o n Saturday that the difficulties in the local bodyplants. that resulted in th, p suspension of work in his factories, “is- not a strike—it i* an attack on the Ford industries in one way or another. Our plant s will be going again full tilt in a very «bort- time.”

Previously, the officials of the 17ovr l Comp an v bad declared substantially correct the statement credited to Mr Ford that “certain of mv competitors who are operating against, me” wore r-ppsnonsibU for the suspension of work, rendering one hundred thousand men idleWhen the Ford Company announced the suspension on Friday, ft was stated it could no longer eontintv production without the bodies furnished by the Briggs’ Manufacturing Company, whose plants closed down parly in th e week, following on a walk-out of six thousand employees. Officials of the Ford Company said cm i„. r ir>v that tbev expected the Briggs’ Company strike to end. on Monday, declaring that wUMr, rix hours after trie strike has end e d, the Ford plants throughout the United States would resume.

EFFECT ON STOCK MARKET

NEW YORK, January 27

Wall .Street’s reaction to Ford’s charge w.as that the big banking interests had “too many other things on hand” to ibe interesting themselves in Ford’s affair*.

HENRY FORD’S STATEMENT,

DETROIT, January 27

Officials of the Ford Motor Company to-day described as substantially correct the statement that Henry Ford, in a telephone conversation with the London “Evening Standard,” had said that the suspension of work in his domestic plants was due to the efforts of certain bankers to gain control of the Ford Company They declined, however, to elaborate this statement.