Ford to shut down plants, feature Nasser in recall ad

DETROIT (Aug. 22)—Ford Motor Co. is shutting down three of its assembly plants for two weeks beginning Aug. 28 to divert the 70,000 tires that normally would go on new vehicles to the Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. recall efforts, the company announced. The assembly plants are in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., area; St. Louis; and Edison, N.J. The St. Louis facility manufactures the Ford Explorer and Mountaineer, while the other two make the Ford Ranger, the company said. Some 6,000 workers will be affected by the closing, and will receive 95 percent of their normal wages minus overtime and commuting costs. Meanwhile, Ford Chairman and CEO Jac Nasser has taped a commercial to run during prime-time broadcasts, describing the company´s latest actions to facilitate the recall. Ford has identified more than 30 replacement tire lines for the ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT, Nasser says during the commercial.