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By David Shepardson and Nathan Gomes
(Reuters) -Ford Motor Co said on Friday it would reduce production of its F-150 Lightning pickup truck as demand for (EV) cars slows.
The second-largest U. S. automaker said it would reduce production on its Michigan Rouge electric vehicle to a single shift starting April 1. In October, the automaker announced it would reduce one of the three clusters at the Michigan plant that builds the electric F. -150. Flash van.
The announcement is the latest sign of a slowdown in demand for trucks. In October, General Motors postponed the opening of a $4 billion truck plant in Michigan for a year.
Ford told suppliers in December that it planned to produce about 1,600 F-150 Lightning EV pickup trucks during the week starting in January, about a fraction of the previously planned 3,200.
The production cut comes at a time when Detroit automakers are protesting that Biden’s direction is going too far with its emissions regulation proposals that would result in 67% of all new cars in 2032 being electric.
Ford said Friday that the settlement affected 1,400 employees at the plant. Approximately another 700 people will relocate to its Michigan meeting plant and others will take positions at the Rouge complex or other Michigan facilities, or benefit from a special retirement program.
The automaker expects continued expansion of electric vehicle sales in 2024, but expects it to be “less than expected. “
Ford said a few dozen workers could be affected at component plants that support production of the F-150 Lightning.
Ford lost about $36,000 on the 36,000 electric vehicles it delivered to dealers in the third quarter, the company said in October, after previously announcing it would curb the rise of loss-making electric vehicles by shifting investment to the advertising vehicles unit. of Ford and carrying out plans to quadruple sales of gas-electric hybrids in the next five years.
Traditional automakers have focused more on hybrid models over the past year as buyers have opted for those models over electric ones.
The Detroit automaker said Friday it would add a third shift and create nearly 900 jobs at its Michigan assembly plant to increase production of Bronco SUVs and Ranger pickups.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Nathan Gomes in Bangalore; editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Mark Potter)