Vehicle production in North America, cut back by Ford
Ford Motor Company is cutting its North American vehicle production by 21%. Said reduction will be effective in the fourth quarter of this year. Due to this statement, thousands of workers are expected to be affected.
Ford plans to make 168,000 fewer units of vehicles compared to what it had made in the same quarter last year. This reduction is not new for this year. That’s because in the third quarter of this year, the automaker also cut the previously announced third-quarter plan by 20,000 units. This year, Ford will only produce 9 percent of the vehicles compared to what it had produced in 2005.
Due to this reduction, 300 jobs will be lost at Ford’s Windsor engine plant. In addition, 50 people will also be laid off at the Essex Engine Plant. When asked about this chaotic shift, Bill Ford, Ford president and CEO said, “We know this decision will have a dramatic impact on our employees as well as our suppliers. However, this is the right call for our customers. , our dealers and our long-term future. “
It was disclosed that the drastic reduction in vehicle production will eventually result in downtime at some assembly plants. This result will be evident from now until the end of this year. Assembly plants include the plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, where the Mercury Grand Marquis and Crown Victoria are produced. Aside from North America, Ford will also have downtime at 9 plants in the United States. According to the automaker, full details of the additional actions will be announced in September.
On the other hand, Ford said that its plant in Oakville, Ontario will operate on a regular schedule or overtime, if necessary. 6 plants in the United States and Mexico will not be affected. These plants will operate in regular production to maintain the quality of Ford auto parts and vehicles.
Ford was reported to have suffered $ 254 million in the second quarter of this year. Ford’s revenue also fell from $ 44.55 billion to $ 41.97 billion. The North American operations also reported a pre-tax loss of $ 797 million.
According to Dennis DesRosiers, the auto industry analyst said the reasons behind Ford’s move are the very weak US market and the company’s declining market share. “This latest cut should have been made in January and they would be in better shape today,” added DesRosiers.