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Sunday, November 16, 2003For long-established giants like U.S. Steel, GM, or Ford, simply walking away from crushing benefit and pension obligations isn't an option. Last year, for example, benefits for retirees cost Ford over $2 billion, which is more than the company's earnings so far in 2003. For smaller manufacturers like Eastman Machine, paying for health benefits is a bigger worry than new competition from China. "One of the reasons we're looking at outsourcing is medical costs," explains Stevenson. "Energy and taxes are peanuts compared with the cost of health insurance, and it's something I have no control over." Insuring his employees and retirees costs nearly $80,000 a month, up from $40,000 five years ago. Revenues, meanwhile, have remained flat at about $30 million. posted by Sydney on 11/16/2003 05:00:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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