Ford Sollers announced that it is slated to reduce production in its Vsevolozhsk plant located near St. Petersburg. Ford Sollers is the joint venture company between the US carmaker Ford Motor Co and Sollers, an automaker in Russia. In August and September, the plant will temporarily stop production for 20 days. Starting September 30, the plant will reduce the number of shifts to only two shifts per day instead of three. Plans to reduce employees are also in the offing, with the company talking to union representatives about decreasing the number of its 2,700 staff.
A decrease in the demand was the reason cited by Ford Soller for the reduction. While there has been a rise in SUV demand in Russia, slow demand has been experienced with compact cars like the Ford Focus.
The Vsevolozhsk plant manufactures C-segment or compact cars like the Ford Mondeo and Ford Focus. It does not make SUVs. The Association of European Businesses (AEB) reported that car sales in Russia dropped in July for the fifth month straight.
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