Ford Deepens Output Cuts at Michigan, Kentucky Plants
06-17-2008 | 10:14 PM
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Ford Deepens Output Cuts at Michigan, Kentucky Plants
June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S.-based automaker, is trimming production further at large- truck plants in Michigan and Kentucky as rising fuel prices reduce demand.
The Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne will now be shut for a total of nine weeks, spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said today in an interview. The company said in May that the factory, which makes sport-utility vehicles such as the Expedition, would be closed for five weeks starting June 23.
Ford will idle its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville for four weeks, with work resuming in early August, Kozleski said. The factory makes F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks and has been operating with just one shift most of this month.
The automaker is reacting to a consumer shift away from such trucks as average U.S. gasoline prices exceed $4 a gallon. Ford plans to trim North American vehicle output 15 percent this quarter, with more cuts set for the rest of 2008. Through May, U.S. sales fell 19 percent for the F-Series, including Super Duty and F-150 versions, and tumbled 31 percent for the Expedition.
Ford will idle all its U.S. and Canadian plants the weeks of July 7 and 14, in an annual summer shutdown. Those weeks are part of the shutdown plans for the Kentucky and Michigan factories.
The company has about 4,700 production workers at the Louisville plant and 1,400 at the Michigan factory.
Trimming Salaried Jobs
Ford also has begun cutting jobs of contract workers, spokesman Mark Truby said earlier today, without giving details. The company hasn't yet started reductions among its own salaried employees.
Ford plans to trim North American salaried costs by 15 percent because of falling truck sales and a softening economy. The automaker last month retreated from a target of returning to profit in 2009, after $15.3 billion in losses the past two years.
Associated Press reported Ford's longer shutdown of the Michigan plant yesterday. General Motors Corp. is the largest U.S. automaker.
Ford rose 10 cents to $6.60 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 1.9 percent this year.
The Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne will now be shut for a total of nine weeks, spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said today in an interview. The company said in May that the factory, which makes sport-utility vehicles such as the Expedition, would be closed for five weeks starting June 23.
Ford will idle its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville for four weeks, with work resuming in early August, Kozleski said. The factory makes F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks and has been operating with just one shift most of this month.
The automaker is reacting to a consumer shift away from such trucks as average U.S. gasoline prices exceed $4 a gallon. Ford plans to trim North American vehicle output 15 percent this quarter, with more cuts set for the rest of 2008. Through May, U.S. sales fell 19 percent for the F-Series, including Super Duty and F-150 versions, and tumbled 31 percent for the Expedition.
Ford will idle all its U.S. and Canadian plants the weeks of July 7 and 14, in an annual summer shutdown. Those weeks are part of the shutdown plans for the Kentucky and Michigan factories.
The company has about 4,700 production workers at the Louisville plant and 1,400 at the Michigan factory.
Trimming Salaried Jobs
Ford also has begun cutting jobs of contract workers, spokesman Mark Truby said earlier today, without giving details. The company hasn't yet started reductions among its own salaried employees.
Ford plans to trim North American salaried costs by 15 percent because of falling truck sales and a softening economy. The automaker last month retreated from a target of returning to profit in 2009, after $15.3 billion in losses the past two years.
Associated Press reported Ford's longer shutdown of the Michigan plant yesterday. General Motors Corp. is the largest U.S. automaker.
Ford rose 10 cents to $6.60 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 1.9 percent this year.
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