In January, Ford announced that it would be cutting back on production of its EV pickup, the F-150 Lightning. But the automaker had a plan to make up some ground: a large group of workers from the Lightning plant would move to plants producing the Ranger and Bronco – two models for which Ford boosted manufacturing targets.
Now that’s about to change. Crain’s Detroit Business is reporting that Ford will begin scaling back its Bronco production amid rising inventories and lower sales. The move will bring with it the need to relocate some 400 production workers from the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne to other facilities, though reports say none are being laid off.
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Crain’s notes that Bronco sales were down 10% through October, and sitting on dealer lots longer. Cox Automotive recently noted that Ford’s inventory of new vehicles hit a day’s supply of 115 in October, compared to 85 industry-wide.
The production change, which Ford said in a memo would “reduce our line rate to better serve customer demand for Bronco,” is set to take place early next year.
Meanwhile, collateral damage may already be underway: some industry observers have speculated that a spate of layoffs announced by Michigan auto supplier Webasto Roof Systems are potentially related to Ford’s pullback on the Bronco.
Webasto, says Crain’s, “notified the state that it plans to lay off 218 employees as a result of reduced production by a customer.” Though that customer was unnamed, the journal pointed out the Ford Bronco program was one of the largest for Webasto.
Capping off a tough week for Ford was the coinciding announcement that the automaker would reduce its workforce by 4,000 in Europe and the U.K. by the end of 2027.
In more bad news for the Bronco, specifically: earlier this week the NHTSA announced a probe that looks into whether an April Ford recall involving the Bronco Sport and Maverick pickup was effective. At issue is a problem where the vehicles can suddenly lose power, a circumstance that a handful of consumers say persisted even after the recall fix was performed.
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