Ford Cuts 900 Jobs in Flat Rock

The One Ford plan which helped the American manufacturer survive 2009 without going through some type of major crisis appears to extend well into 2010, after the carmaker announced it will cut one shift at the Flat Rock this July, meaning 900 people will have to leave the facility.

Flat Rock manufactures the Ford Mustang and, being co-owned with Japanese carmaker Mazda, the Mazda6. The cut in personnel will not affect the output, DetNews says and will have the exact opposite consequence: Ford will boost production, but on single shift. To cope with the change, the line speed will be increased by 35 percent.

According to Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans however, most of the workers who will have to leave are likely to be absorbed into other facilities, like the Chicago assembly plant, where a new shift will be added in the third quarter.

Some of the workers who will not be needed in Chicago may head for the Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, where Ford will start production of the Ford Focus, after the line building the usual models here, the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, has been scrapped.

“We will reopen the Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne. We will convert it from a plant that produced large trucks and (sport utility vehicles) to fuel-efficient cars. We are moving the Explorer production to Chicago and will add a second shift.”

"We expect the vast majority of employees will be able to go elsewhere and stay with Ford," Evans was quoted as saying by DetNews.