Honda plans output hike

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jul 10, 2002

LINCOLN, Ala. (AP) -- Honda announced plans Tuesday to double its production capacity and add 2,000 workers to its plant in Alabama, part of an expansion that will increase vehicle production in Ohio and Canada as well.

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama will build a new $425 million unit at its Lincoln site that will increase annual production of Odyssey minivans and V6 engines from the projected 150,000 in September to 300,000 in 2004. The number of workers at the plant will nearly double to 4,300, Honda officials said.

The Japanese firm also said it will increase annual production capacity in North America from 1.22 million to 1.4 million units by late 2004. Along with the Alabama expansion, it will increase production at Honda of Canada and its Anna Engine Plant in Ohio. Alabama is expected to offer Honda about $90 million in incentives, mostly in tax breaks and worker training B about $45,000 per new employee B to help bring about the expansion.

The expansion boosts the number of automobile manufacturing and supply jobs in Alabama to 36,000 and more firmly entrenches the state as one of the South's automotive capitals.

Five major auto manufacturers have located in Alabama in recent years: Honda in Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz in Vance, Toyota in Huntsville, Navistar in Huntsville and Hyundai in Montgomery. Entry- level production jobs at the Lincoln plant pay $14.23 an hour, said company spokesman Mark Morrison. After two years, most of the plant's 2,300 workers earn $22 to $24 an hour, he said. The average hourly wage in Alabama is $13.72, according to state labor statistics.

The company announced plans for its Alabama plant in May 1999, getting $158 million in tax breaks, land improvements and worker training. Production started in November 2001. In December 2001, the company said it was increasing its investment in Lincoln to create an additional 800 jobs and turn out 150,000 Odyssey minivans and engines a year instead of the 120,000 it originally projected.

Kerr-McGee declares dividend

OKLAHOMA CITY (JR) -- Kerr-McGee's board of directors on Tuesday declared a quarterly dividend of 45 cents per share of common stock for the third quarter. The dividend will be payable Oct. 1 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 6.

CMS cuts jobs, moves, limits comp

DETROIT (AP) -- CMS Energy, which has come under fire over questionable power swaps, says compensation for new Chairman and Chief Executive Ken Whipple will "be largely deferred" and be based on stock performance.

The company, the nation's fourth-largest combination gas and electric utility, also announced Tuesday that it would cut 50 jobs, move its headquarters from Dearborn to Jackson and sell its three corporate jets, part of an initiative to cut operating costs by about $50 million a year.

CMS has been in flux since mid-May, when it said an internal review found that its energy marketing unit made energy swaps that artificially inflated its revenues and expenses by more than $4.4 billion from May 2000 through mid-January 2002. CMS Energy is the parent company of Consumers Energy, one of Michigan's largest utilities.

Whipple, 67, a former Ford executive vice president who was named to CMS' top post in May, has said he did not plan to stay for more than a year. He succeeded William T. McCormick Jr., who resigned less than two weeks after the company admitted the questionable energy trades. Whipple essentially is receiving no pay, other than a small amount for bookkeeping purposes, spokesman Kelly Farr said. Whipple was a member of the board before being named CEO and outside directors typically make $50,000 to $60,000 per year.

The headquarters move to Jackson, home of Consumers Energy, will result in a loss of 50 jobs and a reduction in office lease, travel, salary and information technology costs, the company said in a statement. CMS Energy employs 11,500 people. There are about 200 people at its Dearborn headquarters.

Bush takes stand

NEW YORK (AP) -- President Bush called for doubled prison terms and aggressive policing Tuesday to combat fraud and corruption in scandal-tarred corporate America, promising to do "everything in our power to end the days of cooking the books." Democrats faulted his proposals as inadequate and Wall Street investors yawned.

Bush, wearing a Big Apple lapel pin, traveled to the heart of Manhattan's financial district to respond to the corporate accounting scandals that have shaken investor confidence, threatened an economy struggling to recover from recession and called into question his own decades-old transactions as a private businessman.

Union rejects cut

CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines' largest union has rejected a 10 percent pay cut that was part of the carrier's plan to right itself after losing $2 billion since the terrorist attacks. United had proposed the pay cuts among employee concessions it says are needed to help the company rebound financially. But the machinists' union on Tuesday said the wage-cut request won't fly with its 35,000 members. The workers have agreed to defer $498 million in retroactive pay to help the company return to financial stability.