Ford to close down three plants

Ford Motor Co, the second-largest US automaker, is likely to close three assembly plants in St Louis, Atlanta, and St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as an engine-parts factory and a truck-assembly center, the Wall Street Journal said, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The plants employ some 7,500 people, which is about 6 percent of Ford's workforce in North America, the Journal said.

The plan, which has been dubbed the "Way Forward," is expected to be announced next month; a Ford spokesman declined to comment on the plan, the newspaper said.

The plans to shut the plants were still being formulated and were subject to change, it added.

Ford, facing a deepening financial crisis, has promised to unveil a radical restructuring in North America early next year. Last month, the company announced plans to eliminate 4,000 salaried jobs, or 10 percent of its North American white-collar work force, as part of the larger restructuring plan.

Company chairman and chief executive William Clay Ford Jr., great-grandson of Ford's founder Henry Ford, is reviewing the company's marketing and brands and oversees staff reorganization, according to WSJ.

Ford lost US$284 million in the third quarter. In the first nine months of this year its world-wide automotive operations lost US$1.69 billion, the newspaper said.

On Thursday the company led the decline in last month's car and truck sales in the US, largely due to slumping demand for its sport-utility vehicles.

Ford said it sold 201,711 cars and trucks, compared to 236,855 a year earlier, and cut its production forecasts for the fourth and first quarters.

Ford and General Motors Corp posted fresh declines in US sales for November, but Toyota Motor Corp and luxury automakers Porsche and BMW sold more cars.

General Motors, the world's largest automaker, said its sales dropped 7.4 percent last month. It sold 281,288 cars and trucks last month, compared to 303,891 a year earlier.

German-based DaimlerChrysler, the third-largest US automaker, reported a 2.7 percent decline in US sales for Chrysler and a 2.9 percent decline for Mercedes-Benz.

But car and truck sales for Toyota, the world No. 2, increased last month to 169,665 from 154,272 a year earlier.

Porsche, meanwhile, sold 9.7 percent more cars in the US last month than during the same period a year earlier.

Overall, 2,794 cars were delivered to customers, the company said in a statement.

US sales for BMW rose 11 percent last month compared to November last year. The company sold 26,844 cars last month, compared to 24,095 in November last year.