Brazil: Ford Pays Workers to Quit

Bizarre variations on the theme of mass firings have emerged during Brazil's current economic crisis, which has seen the nation's unemployment rate jump to at least 15% and put more than 60,000 autoworkers out of jobs. The most recent twist is the car companies' ploy for getting workers to quit voluntarily-an outgrowth. of a factory-wide strike at Ford's Sao Paulo plant over the job security issue in July (see MM, August, 1981). 'In the settlement of that strike, Ford agreed not to fire anyone for 120 days from the date of the beginning of the strike-July 6-or, if layoffs were necessary, to pay laid-off workers in full for the duration of the 120-day period. Other auto executives later made a similar commitment at a meeting with Sao Paulo governor Paulo Maluf.

Less than a month later, Ford announced that 945 employees would have to be fired. The company asked for volunteers to lose their jobs-and thus qualify to be paid until November 6, the end of the 120-day period, without working. More than 500 workers volunteered; the remaining 445 of the quota Mere selected and fired by the management. All will be paid through November 6, plus receiving two months' severance pay and pro-Mod annual benefits. By August 19, 3,200 Volkswagen workers had also opted for such "voluntary" layoffs.

Why would anyone volunteer to be fired' Explained John Thome of Ford, "They know the company is going to lay off that many workers in any case. It's in the interest of those who think they're going to be laid off anyway to volunteer so the) can get paid while they're looking for another job."

But for unemployed autoworkers in Brazil, the chances of finding another job are slim. Mercedes Benz fired 5,200 workers at a stroke in early August. Says Thome, "The problem is that there's no work to give them. The economy is very bleak. We cannot make cars which are just going to sit there and rust."