Ford CEO, unions reportedly talking

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford CEO Alan Mulally said the company needs painful concessions from the United Auto Workers union, but not an alliance with rival Toyota Motor, to complete its turnaround efforts, according to published reports.

Mulally, who spoke with journalists Wednesday at a dinner in Detroit, said he meets weekly with UAW President Ron Gettelfinger in advance of contract talks later this year.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

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"I respect the union as an institution. (But) the only thing I care about is the competitiveness of Ford," Mulally said in a Detroit News report. He said that the union chief has been cooperative in talks so far.

"Ron Gettelfinger absolutely understands the situation we're in I don't know of anybody that cares more about Ford than Ron Gettelfinger," Mulally said in the News report. "On everything that we've asked him to do to help us restructure, he's supported us."

Just after Mulally started at Ford in September, the union and Ford agreed to pension and buyout offers to the entire U.S. hourly workforce as part of Ford's plans to close plants and slash capacity. About 38,000 of the 75,000 UAW members at Ford agreed to accept those offers to leave the company.

The current union pacts between the union and the Big Three automakers - Ford (Charts), General Motors (Charts) and DaimlerChrysler's (Charts) Chrysler Group, expire in September.

Mulally had praise for the operations of Toyota Motor (Charts). He traveled to Tokyo late last month to meet with Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho. But he repeated the company's statement after the meeting was reported that he is not discussing a specific alliance with the Japanese automaker.

"We're always looking for opportunities to collaborate on all levels," Mulally said in a Reuters report, pointing to issues such as advanced technology and the regulatory environment. "I really want to connect with each of the manufacturers and want to do it quickly, because we have so many things in common that we have to deal with." He said he's also met with executives at GM and DaimlerChrysler since he was tapped as CEO of Ford in September, leaving a position heading the commercial jet unit at Boeing (Charts).

Ford announced in September that its target is now to return its core North American automotive operations to profitability by 2009, and Mulally said Wednesday it is on track to do that.

Ford also said in September it intended to roll out new models for 70 percent of its vehicle lineup by 2008. The Detroit Free Press reported that Mulally said Wednesday the company expects to meet that target and it is now looking to turn over 100 percent of its lineup by the end of the decade.

Mulally also told reporters that previously announced plans to sell the Aston-Martin luxury sports car unit should be completed this year. And he would not rule out the sale of the money-losing Jaguar brand as well.

Ford announced Wednesday that U.S. sales fell 13 percent in December from a year earlier, leaving the company's sales down 8 percent for the full year. Its U.S. market share fell 17.5 percent from 18.6 percent.

Ford has said its market share will fall further in 2007 to the 14 to 15 percent range, which will likely leave it behind Toyota in U.S. market share for the first time for a full year. Toyota's share came in at 15.4 percent in 2006, and it is seeing growing sales. Ford finished behind Toyota in sales in most months since the 2007 models were introduced this fall, including December.

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