The Associated Press
May 30, 2008 - 8:29 p.m.

WAYNE, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. has no plans at near for further U.S. plant closures despite a dramatic drop in demand for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, a top meeting of friends executive said Friday.

But Joe Hinrichs, group vice-president of global manufacturing, also told reporters Friday in Wayne, Mich., that it makes none sense to have five factories making trucks and recreation utility vehicles on unit shift each.

Hinrichs reported the company’s long-term choices are to either add production to the plants or close some of them.

The company, he aforesaid, plans to honour a commitment to the United Auto Workers during contract talks last year not to close more plants.

“There’s in no degree plans rectilinear now to do anything different than we committed to,” he said after a tour of the plant that makes the Focus small car.

Hinrichs also said the company plans to offer more buyout and early retirement packages on a plant-by-plant basis as it tries to more remote reduce its hourly work force to match let down demand for its products.

“It’s clear that we need to reduce more of our hourly work force from a total number standpoint, given where the mart and the economy is, and given where our capacity is and where the exaction is,” he related.

About 4,200 hourly workers - just over half number the company wanted - took Ford’s most recent offers to leave the company.

Ford makes pickups and SUVs at factories in Wayne and Dearborn, Mich., Kansas City and at two plants in Louisville, Ky. Four are gladly to be operating on one stratagem, which Hinrichs conceded is not the most ready way to run the company.

“That’s not the long-term plan. It can’t be the long-term device. It’s not productive,” he uttered.

Ford already has closed two plants that make pickup trucks in Norfolk, Va., and in Canada.

Hinrichs said the company has three options for its small commodities and SUV plants: more volume of trucks, production of different products or closure.