Ford is planning to cut fourth-quarter production in the United States by 21 per cent and reduce third-quarter production to accelerate its turnaround plan, it confirmed today.
The automaker said it would cut North American production in the fourth quarter by 168,000 units and reduce third-quarter production by 20,000 vehicles.
Ford, which is battling shrinking US market share and rising costs, had said it would accelerate its turnaround plan to respond to the weakening demand for fuel-hungry trucks and sport utility vehicles in the US market as gasoline prices have remained high.
For the full year, Ford now plans to make 3.048 million vehicles in North America, down 9 per cent from a year earlier.
Ford, which posted a second-quarter loss of $254 million and has hired an outside financial adviser, has said it will close 14 plants and cut up to 30,000 factory jobs to return its North American unit to profitability by 2008.