Ford to slash 900 jobs at Michigan plant

US automaker Ford will slash 900 jobs at its Michigan plant, that manufactures the Mustang, whose sales declined 27 per cent last year.

The company will cut an entire shift from July at the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock, Michigan.

Hourly manufacturing workers would constitute the maximum number of those being laid off, in addition to some salaried employees out of a total of 2,300 at the plant, the company said.

However, a majority of workers would be offered positions at other Ford plants. The Michigan plant, which is jointly owned by Ford and Japanese auto company Mazda Motor Corp, also makes the Mazda6 mid-size sedan.

The company said it will be able to build more vehicles in a single shift by eliminating down time, which was a lot at the plant last year, and by speeding up assembly line.

The Flat Rock plant produced about 102,000 vehicles in 2009.

Ford had announced plans last month to hire 1,200 workers at its assembly plant here to build the new Ford Explorer.