Fate of European Ford Plants Depends on Market

Ford Motor Co. will evaluate the future of its factories in Europe if the region's auto sales remain weak, Bloomberg News reports.

Stephen Odell, CEO of Ford of Europe, did not tell the news service how long the company is willing to wait. He says Ford wants to maintain the capacity needed to meet the eventual auto market recovery. But Odell notes that the company has a history of "rightsizing" production.

Passenger vehicle demand across Europe fell 7% year over year to 3.1 million units in the first three months of 2012, according to trade group ACEA. Ford sales in that period slid 6% to 282,900 units.

Odell says for now Ford is shedding temporary workers, reducing factory work schedules and relying on new models to spark demand. The company said last week it plans to build 370,000 vehicles in Europe in the current quarter, down 65,000 units from the same period in 2011.