Ford to close Cleveland casting plant, delay engine line startup
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DETROIT --Ford Motor Co. today said it will idle a casting plant in
Cleveland in 2009 and will delay the production start of the 3.5-liter
V-6 engine there.

Ford is getting out of the casting business, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford's
vice president of North America manufacturing.

About 1,100 workers will be affected by the idling. The plant makes
cast-iron components for engines used in Ford's full-sized pickups, vans
and SUVs.

Because of slow sales, Ford is delaying for a year the start of
production of its 3.5-liter V-6 at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1. Ford's
engine plant in Lima, Ohio, is the sole source of the 3.5-liter V-6s
used in the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKZ and MKX.

Hinrichs said Ford plans to reopen Cleveland Engine No.1 next spring,
when production starts on the Ford Flex and several other vehicles that
use the 3.5-liter engine.

The moves are part of Ford's Way Forward restructuring plan. The plan,
updated last fall, calls for Ford to shut 16 plants. The company is
working to bring its manufacturing capacity and employment levels in
line with vehicle sales.

The Cleveland casting plant will be the 10th that Ford has closed.
Hinrichs would not say which other plants are being considered for closing.

He said the production delay at the Cleveland Engine Plant resulted from
missing sales projections on several key new vehicles. "It has nothing
to do with delayed launches," Hinrichs said. "This engine is a critical
part of some of our new vehicle launches."

He added: "When you look back over a couple of years ago, when we
forecasted the volumes, we had to make the decisions on doing the timing
on when you have to retool" an engine line "and have that capacity
available. Our forecasted volumes haven't materialized to the extent we
though they would."