Ford to Idle Ohio Plant an Extra Week to Cut Inventory

DETROIT —  Ford Motor Co. plans to close for an extra week the Avon Lake, Ohio, plant that makes Mercury Villager and Nissan Motor Co. Quest minivans, as the world’s second-largest auto maker trims inventories.

Ford plans to idle the plant, which has 2,740 workers, for the week starting June 26, said spokesman George Pipas. After Ford’s companywide annual production shutdown the first two weeks of July, the Avon Lake plant will run only one shift instead of the usual two until September. The employees on each shift will work on alternate weeks.

Workers idled by the moves will receive 95% of their regular pay under terms of Ford’s contract with the United Auto Workers union, Ford spokesman Ed Miller said.

Separately, General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler each said they will idle one plant to prepare for new models.

GM, the world’s largest auto maker, will idle a Flint, Mich., plant from June 24 until early August to retool for a new version of the Chevrolet C/K and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks. The plant has about 2,800 workers and made 120,322 trucks last year.

Germany-based DaimlerChrysler plans to close a Sterling Heights, Mich., plant for three weeks starting Monday to prepare for redesigned Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus mid-size sedans. The plant, which employs about 3,000, can build 195,000 cars a year.

Ford shares fell 94 cents to $45.06, while GM was down $2.06 at $63, and DaimlerChrysler fell 44 cents to $54.50, all on the New York Stock Exchange.