Ford Motor Co. displays a new 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, September 17, 2020.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT – Ford Motor is once again cutting production of its F-150 pickup truck and other highly profitable vehicles due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips.
The automaker informed employees Wednesday of the cuts, which also impact production of its larger Super Duty pickups and Expedition SUV.
“Our teams are making the most of our available semiconductor allocation, finding unique solutions to provide as many high-quality vehicles as possible to our dealers and customers,” Ford vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs John Savona said in an internal memo to employees obtained by CNBC.
Most notably, the new production cuts include extending downtime at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly plant for the F-150 through the week of Sept. 6. Pickup truck production there has been down since last week due to the parts shortage.
Ford’s other U.S. plant that produces the F-150 also will only run on one of three shifts next week – the same amount as this week for the Michigan plant.
Ford’s Kentucky Truck plant, which builds Super Duty pickups alongside Expedition and Navigator SUVs, will also cut a shift the weeks of Sept. 6 and Sept. 13.
A Ford spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday the cuts that were outlined in the memo.
