From AFX News Limited

DETROIT -- Faced with slowing demand for some of its vehicles, Ford Motor Co. on Monday announced it would temporarily cut shifts at factories in Chicago, Louisville, KY, and Cleveland, OH.

The struggling automaker said the cuts would idle about 2,500 workers at the three factories, although under their contract with the United Auto Workers, they will get most of their pay.

"We remain focused on our plan to return the North American automotive business to profitability," Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said in a statement. "These actions are necessary as we align our capacity and product mix to meet real customer demand."

The Chicago factory makes the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans as well as the Taurus X crossover vehicle. The Louisville Assembly plant makes the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicles. Both will go from two shifts to one starting in the summer, but a date has not been completed, the company said.

Ford said Monday that Cleveland Engine Plant 2, which makes a 3.0-liter, six-cylinder engine, will go from two shifts to one shift starting in late April. Ford also says restarting the Cleveland Engine Plant 1, which was to make a 3.5-liter, six-cylinder engine, will be delayed until the fourth quarter. It has been closed since May 2007.

The company had hoped to reopen the factory sometime during the spring.

Both engine factories are in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park.

Ford is offering all of its hourly workers represented by the UAW buyouts or early retirement plans in an effort to further reduce its work force.

"The buyouts and capacity actions are designed to ensure that our manufacturing facilities are operating in the most efficient way," Joe Hinrichs, Ford's group vice president of global operations, said in a statement. "By adjusting our operating patterns in this way, we can produce the right volume and avoid down weeks," he said.

Ford had been idling plants for weeks at a time to control the inventory levels of some of its slower-selling products.

Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari said she could not predict when workers at the three plants might be called back.

"It really depends on so many business factors," she said Monday.

She would not say whether the company plans more production cuts.

"This is all we have to say about it at this time," Gattari said. "As we have said, we're always examining the situation. We're examining how our capacity is lining up with customer demand. This is part of the plan to restructure our business so we are more in line, and we can return the automotive operation to profitability next year."

Ford has seen large sales drops in the products made by the two assembly plants.

Sales of the Taurus sedan were down 19 percent last year to 68,178 when compared with 2006 figures, while Taurus X crossover sales dropped 28.1 percent to 42,110, according to Autodata Corp. Explorer sales were off 23.1 percent for the year to 137,817.

At the end of January, the company had a 123-day supply of Tauruses, a 110-day supply of the Taurus X and a 108-day supply of the Explorer, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank.

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