End of the line

After more than four decades FORD shuts down in St. Thomas.
When the final Crown Victoria rolls off the assembly line, the plant will close after 44 years, putting the last of more than 1,100 hourly-paid employees out of work. A decade ago, there were about 3,600 union members at the factory. Over the years, the FORD Fairmont, Pinto and Maverick were built there. The workers have officially known since 2009 that the plant would close, but they had hoped it would remain open. To help ease the blow, the union and the automaker have worked out compensation packages that allow for early retirements and a limited number of transfers to other Ford factories. Industry observers say the estimated $1-billion it would take to upgrade the factory, to make more fuel-efficient vehicles, will be spent instead in China, India or Brazil or other markets that are growing.