As previously noted Ford has been talking about job cuts. Now there is more news, that a rumored 7500 workers in 5 plants will be facing a bleak 2006.

The company is likely to shut assembly plants in St Louis, Atlanta and St Paul, Minnesota, as well as an engine-parts plant in Windsor, Ontario, and a truck-assembly plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, the newspaper said.(WSJ)

So this means that there is some bitter sweet irony for the American workers who lost their jobs to Mexico, watching the Mexican workers lose their jobs to Chinese suppliers. Where are you now, UAW? The real problem in all of this is not the appetite for new vehicles - that has not slowed down. The issue is the continous erosion of market share that GM and Ford have suffered because they continue to make cars that are less desirable than that of their competition.

It is really that simple. A little history of the Ford Motor Company will tell you that Henry Ford got it really right once, and had a 66% market share of the WORLD automotive market at one point. He sold what the people wanted, and it was notably different from the industry norms of the time.

But what will happen in the near term? Bailout? While some will view this as a dirty word, remember that Chrysler was able to repay their bailout loans 7 years early. Maybe the bailout can be directed to the design department, or engineering. Just keep it away from the marketing guys and their rebates programs.