Stacy94PGT

Ford to cut jobs at Kentucky Explorer plant

BY BILL KOENIG
BLOOMBERG

Ford Motor Co., facing a decline in SUV sales, plans to cut jobs and reduce production capacity at a Kentucky plant that makes the Explorer SUV.

"It is likely we will take a capacity action," company spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari said in an interview. She said a final decision hadn't been made and she couldn't specify how many jobs may be affected. Ford is the second-largest U.S. automaker.

The plant in Louisville employs 3,380 people and is the only factory that manufactures the Explorer. In March, the company closed a St. Louis plant that also assembled the model. Sales of the midsize SUV had fallen 26% this year through October.

The cutback would fit with Ford's strategy of lessening reliance on SUVs and pickups for profit as demand declines.

The automaker's North American operations posted losses in eight of the past nine quarters as buyers turned to more fuel-efficient cars from rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp.

The Courier-Journal in Louisville reported the planned production and job cuts on Monday. According to a letter Ford sent to employees that was posted on the newspaper's Web site, the reductions will take place before July 2007. The plant will have a temporary shutdown the week of Jan. 8, the letter said.

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Stacy94PGT
My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, 2nd one was a 67 Cougar XR-7, 3rd one was a 66 Mustang Coupe. Why did I get rid of these cars for ? I know why, because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid.

My next Ford.....