Ford to shed 1,300 jobs in two US assembly plants

03 May 2008

Ford Motor Co. will offer exit option to about 1,300 workers at assembly plants in Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky, as it strives to adjust capacity with demand for its vehicles. Addition workers at an engine plant in Cleveland also will be offered the exit option.

The plants will move from two shifts to one this summer while the restarting of an idled second engine plant in Cleveland will be delayed until the fourth quarter, Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said.

The proposal will affect about 800 workers at the Chicago plant and 500 at the Louisville factory.

The Louisville plant makes the Explorer sport utility vehicle, whose sales plummeted to 7,356 last month, a 38 per cent drop from April 2007.

The Chicago factory makes the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans and Taurus X crossover vehicle, whose sales dropped with rising prices of gasoline.

Ford, which is trying to cut labor costs during a turnaround, has not announced the terms and dates of the severance plan.