Ford to end second shift at suburban St. Louis plant

[Charles Brown <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ford to end second shift at suburban St. Louis plant

Tuesday, September 7, 2004

BY JIM SUHR
ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. LOUIS -- Ford Motor Co. will end the second of its two production shifts
at its suburban assembly plant effective Jan. 3, eliminating up to 1,000
jobs, an area official said Tuesday.

The Hazelwood plant employs more than 2,600 workers and makes three sport
utility vehicles -- the Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer and Lincoln
Aviator.

In 2002, Ford announced plans to close the Hazelwood plant by the middle of
the decade, citing declining sales of SUVs. The company reversed its
decision in September 2003 after a strong lobbying effort led by Gov. Bob
Holden and St. Louis-area officials, including members of a task force
Holden created in hopes of saving the plant.

Ford agreed as part of its latest contract with the United Auto Workers to
keep the site open at least through 2007.

But the company had planned all along to end the second shift. Originally
planned for April of this year, Ford in February postponed the shift
shutdown indefinitely.

"This announcement is not a surprise," said Patrick McKeehan, director of
the Ford-Hazelwood task force. "We had such a run of good luck of late that
we were hoping that both shifts would continue on.

"Although we may not agree with the decision, I guess Ford's working on
their long-term projections of what demand will be."

Ford did not immediately return telephone messages Tuesday.

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