Bill Pugliano, Getty Images A Ford employee leaves the company's Dearborn, Mich., truck plant under the gaze of a statue of founder Henry Ford.

By Sarah Karush
The Associated Press DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co., struggling to keep its grip on second place in the American car market, yesterday said it would make its deepest production cuts since the industry's crisis of the 1980s.

The oldest of the major Detroit auto companies blamed the spike in gasoline prices this spring that has caused sales of its biggest and most profitable vehicles to slump.

The cuts will most deeply affect another icon, its F-series pickup truck, which has reigned as America's best-selling vehicle for the past quarter century and makes up 30 percent of Ford's sales.

The temporary halt at 10 assembly plants between now and the end of the year encompasses four plants that make the F-series, including The Kentucky Truck Plant, one of two plants in Louisville, Ky., slated for shutdowns.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said he was told by Ford executives that the Louisville Assembly Plant, which makes the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, will be shuttered for six weeks, and that the Kentucky Truck Plant will close for five weeks in the fourth quarter. Mr. Abramson said state and local officials have asked to meet with Ford officials.

The production cuts are the second time this week that slower sales have forced Ford to announce changes. On Tuesday, it said it would trim the number of dealerships it has in 18 metropolitan areas because of an average 10 percent decline in dealer profits in this year's first half.

Ford said the production cuts will reduce the need for costly incentives to reduce bloated inventories -- an affirmation that it no longer will cling to market share at the expense of profit. But the cuts also illustrate just how out of step the lineup at the nation's second-largest automaker has become as it loses market share to mostly Asian competitors under the watch of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Ford.

General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group also have been caught in the shift away from trucks and SUVs to smaller cars and crossovers as consumers seek better fuel economy. The Big Three's combined U.S. market share fell to 54.5 percent for the first seven months of 2006, down from 58.7 percent in the same period a year ago. And GM already has announced it will cut production 7 percent to 8 percent in the current quarter.

Ford in January initially announced a turnaround plan that called for shedding 25,000 to 30,000 jobs and closing 14 plants by 2012. But Mr. Ford said last month that the plan -- dubbed the "Way Forward" -- would have to be accelerated and yesterday said the details would be revealed in September.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, reported yesterday that Ford is considering shutting down more factories and cutting salaried jobs and benefits by 10 percent to 30 percent. Ford spokesman Oscar Suris declined to comment on the report.

In response to the production cuts, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ford's debt further into junk status, while two other ratings agencies placed the company on review. Analysts said next month's announcements could include more plant closures and job cuts, as well as speeded-up introductions of new cars and crossovers.

The company said fourth-quarter production would be down 21 percent, or 168,000 units, from last year; third-quarter production will be 20,000 units below what was previously announced and 78,000 units below last year; and overall production for the year would be down about 9 percent.

"We know this decision will have a dramatic impact on our employees, as well as our suppliers," Mr. Ford said in an e-mail to employees. "This is, however, the right call for our customers, our dealers and our long-term future."

Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford, which lost $254 million in the second quarter, said last month that the speed of the market shift away from trucks had taken it by surprise. Like other U.S. automakers, Ford is heavily dependent on sport-utility vehicles and other trucks, which have far higher profit margins than cars.

In addition to the two Louisville factories, the cuts will affect plants in St. Thomas, Ontario; Chicago; Wixom, Mich.; Wayne, Mich.; St. Paul, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Norfolk, Va.; and Dearborn, Mich., Ford said.

Company officials would not say what specific impact the production cuts would have on workers. In general, hourly workers placed on temporary layoff receive 95 percent of their wages through state unemployment benefits and a supplement by Ford.

The United Auto Workers had no immediate comment on the announcement.