Ford To Cut A Shift At Chicago Assembly Plant
In November, Ford Motor Co. will drop one of two production shifts at its Chicago assembly plant. The move will result in the loss of jobs of 600 part-time workers. The plant employs a total of 2,175 hourly workers.
The Chicago assembly plant makes the Ford Taurus X crossover, Mercury Sable and Lincoln MKS. Reportedly, the production at the plant fell 15 percent last year to 131,646, which was half of the plant’s capacity for two shifts. The company said, the sales of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln cars dropped almost 9 percent in August from a year ago. Ford’s overall U.S. sales were down 26.5 percent, as compared to last year.
"Sales of MKS are strong," said Ford spokesman Angie Kozleski. "There is a decline in the large car segment that is more attributable to the other products."
The cut in the production is the result of the company’s poor sales. Along with other U.S automakers, Ford’s sales of larger vehicles have declined, Kozleski said. The company has already cut its production plan for the rest of 2008, because of lower sales to rental car companies; lower production associated with the transfer of Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator assembly operations from Michigan to Kentucky and a cut in its U.S. industry sales forecast.
