Ford cutting Five Hundred production, Chicago plant jobs
ASSOCIATED PRESS
04/07/2006
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. says it is cutting production of the Ford Five Hundred car and reducing jobs at the Chicago plant where it is built.
In March, Ford sold 7,726 Five Hundreds, down 17.6 percent from the 9,375 sold in March 2005.
"We are taking a line-speed reduction to match production capacity with customer demand," Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari told The Detroit News for a story Friday.
Gattari said the October move is expected to cause layoffs at the Chicago Assembly Plant, which also produces the Mercury Montego sedan and Ford Freestyle crossover utility vehicle. The three share the same basic platform.
Last year, J.D. Power and Associates rated the 2005-model Ford Five Hundred as runner-up among full-size cars in its vehicle initial quality rankings.
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On the Net:
Ford Motor Co.: http://www.ford.com
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Information from: The Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com