Posted on 10/19/2016 9:10:28 AM PDT by Lorianne
In a fresh sign of pressure on U.S. automakers, Ford Motor Co on Monday said it will shut down production of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck for a week at a Kansas City assembly plant, and temporarily idle three other plants over the next several weeks.
About 13,000 Ford hourly workers will be laid off during the temporary shutdowns. There are nearly 14,000 workers at the four plants, the company said. Some of them are salaried managers. Of the layoffs, about 4,000 will be in Mexico and about 9,000 in the United States. The cuts will hit Ford's three highest-volume models in the United States.
F-150 production at the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan will continue without interruption, Ford said. Ford is also suspending production of two sport utility vehicles, the Ford Escape and the Lincoln MKC, at its Louisville Assembly Plant for two of the next three weeks. The compact Escape, the company's second best-selling U.S. model, is under increasing pressure from Japanese rivals. Escape U.S. sales were down 12 percent in September.
Ford said it also is shutting two plants in Mexico. One is a plant in Hermosillo that makes the Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ sedans, and the other is in Cuautitlan that makes the Ford Fiesta small car. Fusion is the No. 3 seller in Ford's U.S. lineup, but suffered a 17.5 percent drop in sales last month.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
“Cash for Clunkers” money finally ran out.
I hear that there is a big demand for trucks in the M.E. countries as they seem to be getting blown up pretty often there. Maybe FRAUD Motors should move a plant closer to there and save a lot of transport costs.
Maybe that in your face FU America/american workers "were moving ALL production of small cars to Mexico" has something to do with it.
Wow, F series issues.
Take 50% off the sticker price and I will buy today (in Thailand).
Rumors are their is a new "Expedition" and "Navigator" coming based on the F-150 Platform and yes it will be all Aluminum Body.
So, is this plant shut down for retooling to incorporate these variants in the production line?
Remember the Detroit Auto Show is coming up and do they want to not only Show off said SUV then, but have actual models ready to deliver in dealerships?
Assuming GM and Dodge are not suffering similar declines, I’d have to question if the relentless ads about F-150 aluminum truck beds are gaining competitive traction. Second, the use of smaller six cylinder motors (2.7 liter) regardless of turbo charging may also be scaring off some buyers seeking traditional V-8 power? Hard to say no to a 5.3L TX Edition Silverado hotrod...
I’ve owned lot of Ford vehicles over time, mostly trucks. Not taking a shot at FoMoCo and want this American company to do well.
Ford has to adjust production to the market, that’s all there is to it.
Note that Ford is adapting production as an open challenge to over-regulation by the Feds. High-profit margin, union wage, and lower mpg trucks/SUVs are built in US while the more ‘eco-friendly’ smaller models are outsourced to Mexico and other places. If the Feds want to shut down larger vehicles, it will come at the direct expense of US tax rolls and union workers.
The only PUs selling year-to-date less are Silverado and Tundra. The F150’s increase in sales is less than anticipated.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/10/usa-best-selling-pickup-truck-sales-figures-september-2016.html
Who the hell can afford $30K to $50K for a new truck?
My 1997 Ford F-150 still works well enough.
Could using aluminum instead of steel for the body of that "best-selling" truck have anything to do with the plunge in sales? Just asking. I saw the Chevy commercial on that, and it was pretty damning. The Ford ended up with holes in the truck bed from gravel being poured into it.
The demand is as strong as ever. But the $50,000 to $70,000 sticker price of a new Ford truck is patently absurd. The average Joe pickup truck owner can’t afford those prices.
F150 sales are up 5.5% YTD over 2015.
Even a September month slight downturn is great compared to Silverado/Sierra whose monthly sales dropped more than twice as much. Last month, Rams, Tacomas and Colorados were big winners.
The truck bed is aluminum not STEEL. To meet the CAFE standards. Have you seen the Chevy truck commercial where they drop a empty tool box off the side into the bed of the F150 and it puts a nice size hole in it and the man says it’s aluminum, then does the same with the Chevy truck, ours are STEEL so no hole.
You mean that all of the new mexican ford employees can’t afford all of the new fords that they’ll be building?
Mexico is set to be the #1 automaker country on the planet, and yet mexicans are overrunning the border to escape poverty?
Maybe ford should have just skipped over mexico and set up shop in china like GM and Chrysler/Fiat did, at taxpayer expense.
From the article:
“F-150 production at the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan will continue without interruption, Ford said.”
Isn’t Dearborn where all the “refugees” are? Just askin’.
Folks that use their trucks to earn a living don't want their pickups made out of heavy duty aluminum foil? Who could have guessed that?
Well, at least they look nice in the upper class suburban driveways.
The trucks are too expensive & the average working person can’t afford them. Nothing complicated about that. Also,a really decent used vehicle can be had for a lot less,although this doesn’t apply as much to the trucks where used ones are still pretty overpriced.
Yep, we called it Little Falluja. Couldn’t wait to move out of there. Saw more burkas there than in Instanbul.
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