Group's first goal is to reverse
closing decision; if that fails, find new tenant,
retrain workers
BY STEVE KEMME | ENQUIRER
STAFF WRITER
 BATAVIA
- U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, Ohio Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson and
other public officials emerged from a private meeting in
Batavia Friday vowing to do everything possible to
convince Ford Motor Co. to change its mind about closing
its Batavia transmission plant in 2008.
But they'll also be trying to line up other businesses
that might be interested in moving into the
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What's
at stake
- More than 1,700 jobs will be eliminated under
Ford's plan to trim more than 30,000 jobs
companywide. Some employees with union seniority
might be able to move to Ford's Sharonville plant or
other plants, displacing workers at those sites.
The Batavia plant was the county's largest employer, and the
average assembly line job pays about $65,000 a year.
The plant's $1.5 million tax bill accounted for 10
percent of the annual budget of the Batavia Local
School District,
which serves 1,900 students |
1.8-million-square-foot facility.
"We're working together to promote the Batavia
facility to Ford or other potential users," Johnson
said after Friday's one-hour meeting in the Clermont
County Administration Building.
This was the third meeting of a group of county
officials, state political leaders, United Auto Workers
representatives, business leaders and others that formed
to deal with the impending Ford plant closing. Ford
announced the closing Jan. 23.
The plant, which opened in 1980, will close in 2008,
eliminating 1,745 jobs. The closing is part of a
companywide cost-cutting plan that will eliminate 30,000
jobs.
When Johnson was asked after Friday's meeting what the
chances are of getting Ford to stay at the plant, he said,
"We don't know."
"We're getting the right people to the
table," Commissioner Bob Proud said. "That's a
key."
The Clermont County commissioners organized the group's
first two meetings, and Schmidt, a Miami Township
Republican, arranged Friday's.
Earlier this month, the group established three
subcommittees. The first one is working to keep the Ford
plant open; the second is trying to help plant employees;
and the third is examining possible uses for the huge
facility in Batavia Township.
"We're going to do everything we can to convince
Ford that this is the best place for them to do
business," said state Rep. Tom Niehaus, R-New
Richmond.
State Reps. Joe
Uecker, R-Miami Township, and Danny Bubp,
R-West Union also attended.
Schmidt said it's important to offer Ford plant
employees job retraining programs that would enable them
to continue to work in southern Ohio if the plant closes.
"And if Ford isn't willing or able to keep the
plant open, let's find other opportunities for the
facility," Schmidt said. "I'm hopeful we can get
the best lemonade out of the lemons that have fallen on
us."
Proud said the economic ramifications of the Ford
plant's closing extend beyond Clermont County.
"Ford workers live in Brown, Adams and Hamilton
counties as well as Clermont County," he said.
"The parts suppliers for the Ford plant are all over
the region. This is far-reaching in its
implications."
E-mail skemme@enquirer.com
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Saturday, February 25, 2006
