Ford to Cut Almost 800 Chicago Jobs
While many American car companies are having trouble, Ford Motor Company is planning to cut 792 Chicago jobs at its Southeast Side assembly plant.
The cuts are a result of the company dropping to only one working shift by November 3. Ford had previously said 600 jobs would be cut when it dropped to one shift, according to an article by Southtown Star. The plant in Chicago is Ford’s oldest, and has 2,174 hourly and 137 salaried employees.
The company has been cutting back production at assembly plants throughout the country as it adjusts to a slowing demand for its cars and trucks. Last week, Ford said September new-vehicle sales were down 34.6 percent compared to the same month last year. The plant builds the Ford Taurus, the Ford Taurus X, the Mercury Sable and the Lincoln MKS.
At the same time as Ford is laying off workers, two suppliers to Ford are cutting an additional 168 jobs. JCIM Interiors Manufacturing plans to cut 100 jobs next month. The company was formerly operated by Plastech Engineered Products, which supplied molded plastic components to Ford. That company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Syncreon, which provides logistics services to Ford’s assembly plant, plans to cut 68 jobs by the end of November. Both companies are located in a supplier park close to the Ford plant.
The American auto industry, which is mainly headquartered in Detroit, has been feeling the pangs of the current economic downturn, and many auto companies are cutting jobs and slicing back production to make up for the low demand for cars.