Ford to Lower Mustang Production: 290 Employees Will be Transferred

05/14/96

Ford has announced that they will lower production on their Mustang effective August 5, 1996, when production of the 1997 model year starts. The company has notified the United Auto Workers that 290 of the 2,200 employees at Ford's Dearborn, Michigan assembly plant will be affected. The company has said that it will place the employees at other facilities in the greater Detroit area.

Workers at the plant currently make Mustangs at a rate of 42.5 cars an hour. 1997 production will slow to 37 cars per hour. Ford attributes the reduced production schedule to lower consumer demand for the vehicle line. The slower schedule should also reduce plant downtime. Since the start of the 1996 model year the Dearborn production line experienced eight weeks of downtime due to weaker demand in the specialty segment. Ford says that Mustang's individual share of the specialty segment remains high.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel