Sun, Jul 05, 2009
 The Hermosillo plant will close Dec. 19 and should reopen by the end of January. Workers will get 75 percent of their pay plus a two-week Christmas bonus. el imparcial 2007
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Health Care Sierra Tucson Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Health Care Dependable Health Services Physical Therapists Mechanical Komatsu Equipment Co Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional Tucson Urban League CEO/President Construction West-Press Printing BusinessFord to shut Sonora plant brieflyCollapse of auto sales in US is blamed
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.21.2008
Citing the lack of auto sales in the U.S., Ford Motor Co. will temporarily close one of its assembly plants in Mexico and give employees an extended holiday break.
The Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant — which opened 22 years ago this month — will shut down Dec. 19 and is expected to reopen by the end of January, said Antonio Aguilar Preciado, director of the Maquiladora Association of Sonora.
"They have a saturation of inventory because there are no sales in the U.S.," he said.
Aguilar said Ford has stopped operations in the past for up to 15 days to clear out excess inventory.
"It's nothing new," he said.
Ford officials did not respond to repeated telephone and e-mail inquiries.
More than 3,100 people work in the 1.6-million-square-foot facility in the capital of Sonora, according to Ford's corporate profile.
The workers will receive 75 percent of their salaries during the temporary shutdown, and by law Ford must give employees a Christmas bonus equivalent to two weeks' pay, Aguilar said.
In the past decade, Ford has invested heavily in the plant for upgrades and expansions. The plant currently produces the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ.
Ford also has plants at Chihuahua, in Chihuahua state; and at Cuautitlán, in Mexico state.
This spring, Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced Ford would open a new Fiesta subcompact-car plant to satisfy the new U.S. appetite for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.
The plant would be near Mexico City and was expected to start delivering the Fiesta to the U.S. market in 2010, Calderón said at the time.
But given the economic events of the past few months, those expansion plans may be on hold.
Automakers have been clobbered by lackluster sales and choked credit, and are battling to stay afloat through year's end.
Ford, Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. have turned to the federal government for help.
On Thursday, Democratic leaders in Congress delayed until December a vote on bailing out the auto industry. They have asked the companies to present a plan to show how the $25 billion cash injection they have sought would be used.
"Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a hastily called news conference in Washington, D.C.
With some hopes that a deal could be reached, automakers' stock reversed steep losses Thursday. GM stock rose 17 cents, or 6.5 percent, to $2.96, while Ford's rose 18 cents, or 14.3 percent, to $1.44. Chrysler isn't publicly traded.
● This report contains information from The Associated Press. ● Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at 573-4232 or grico@azstarnet.com.
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