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Ford Relocates Workers Across Plants to Boost SUV Production

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Ford Motor Company (F - Free Report) has announced that it is cutting shifts at its Louisville Assembly Plant and Flat Rock Assembly Plant, per CNBC. However, this move will not result in any layoff as this automaker will relocate workers to other facilities.

This Dearborn, MI-based automaker resorted to this move in order to meet the increasing demand for pickup trucks and large sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Rising demand for pricey pickups and SUVs helped automakers to cope up with declining sales in this year.

In order to boost the production of Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, the company is relocating around 500 workers from its Louisville Assembly Plant to its Kentucky Truck Plant. Further, the second-largest automaker in the United States of America is planning to shift 500 workers from its Flat Rock Assembly Plant to its Livonia Transmission Plant. Notably, Livonia Transmission Plant makes transmissions for its F-150 full-size pickup and the mid-size pickup — Ranger.

Just a few days ago, General Motors Company (GM - Free Report)     announced that it decided to realign its manufacturing capacity and reduce salaried workforce in an effort to improve its business performance. A declining demand for combustion-engine based sedans impelled the company to halt auto production at the assembly plants in North America and reduce workforce. The announcement made by General Motors was not welcomed by President Donald Trump. He threatened to eliminate subsidies for the company. (Read more: General Motors to Lay Off & Halt Production in North America)

In the past year, Ford underperformed the industry it belongs to. The company’s shares have declined 24.9% over this period, whereas the industry decreased 9.4%.



Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, Ford has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) while General Motors has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

A few better-ranked stocks worth considering in the auto space are Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN - Free Report) and Fox Factory Holding Corp. (FOXF - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Allison Transmission has an expected long-term growth rate of 10%. Over the past six months, shares of the company have surged 13.7%.

Fox Factory has an expected long-term growth rate of 17.9%. Over the past six months, shares of the company have risen 63%.

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