Ford Motor Company has been tallying up the cost of chronic absenteeism and finding that it is taking a toll on the bottom line. For every one percentage point change in absenteeism, the company states that it spends $100 million. In an article discussing the automakers and UAW partnership to target chronic absenteeism, The Detroit News recently reported that:
Absenteeism among hourly workers in the automotive industry runs about 10 percent annually, about three times higher than in other industries, according to a study published this year by the Automotive Supplier Action Committee, a trade group. At some Big Three plants, absenteeism runs as high as 20 percent.
The figures include vacations, paid personal days off and medical leave, but the most crippling problem is employees who just skip work. Managers must scramble to find hundreds of replacements from pools of fill-in workers to perform tasks for which they may not be trained.
… Automakers and many UAW workers say there is no excuse for high absenteeism. Line workers receive up to five weeks of vacation and 17 paid holidays. When plants are idled for retooling or slow sales, workers also collect pay. “Sick days” are not provided and are supposed to come out of vacation time unless it