Struggling US car giant Ford Motor said today that it would slash its fourth-quarter US vehicle production by 21% or 168,000 units as it vies to cuts costs dramatically.
Ford said the move to cut output across its production lines would see a nine 9% reduction on its full-year 2006 output compared with 2005.
'We know this decision will have a dramatic impact on our employees, as well as our suppliers,' the company's CEO Bill Ford said in a statement. Ford made the announcement two weeks after doubling its second-quarter loss for the quarter ended June to $254m.
Ford said its output cuts were due in part to an expected drop in demand for petrol-guzzling light trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). 'High gasoline prices are expected to continue to encourage demand for more fuel-efficient passenger cars and crossovers,' the company said.
Ford has been caught in a bind between rocketing fuel costs and the marketing of more fuel-efficient vehicles by its Asian rivals. Last month, Toyota accelerated past Ford for the first time as the Japanese giant became the second most popular car maker in the US market, behind General Motors.
