Ford may switch to a four-day work schedule at its St Petersburg plant in order to avoid layoffs.
A spokesperson for the carmaker’s Russian subsidiary told Prime-Tass that company has already switched to a four-day work schedule at its European plants.
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Ford is currently revising the production plan for its Russian facility, as it forecasts a continued general decline in car sales on the Russian market.
Ford said earlier that it planned to increase the production capacity of its Russian plant to 125,000 vehicles in 2009 from 75,000 vehicles currently.
Ford recently added Mondeo assembly at the plant – in addition to the Focus.
Ford’s Focus has been hugely successful in the Russian car market.
However, all OEMs in Russia are currently reassessing prospects in the wake of a sharp dip in the market that started at the end of last year.
Light vehicle sales in Russia in January were 33% down on last year and analysts say the market could slump by more than 50% this year.
