Ford cutting shift at Chicago assembly plant

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) will cut one of two production shifts in November at the Chicago plant where it builds the Taurus and other vehicles, affecting part-time workers first, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

Ford's sales of larger vehicles have declined along with the rest of the U.S. auto sector, and it will cut production to align with reduced demand, spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said.

About 600 part-time workers at the plant will be affected first by the shift cut, Kozleski said. Ford told workers of the cut earlier this week.

Ford produces the Taurus X, the Mercury Sable and the Lincoln MKS at the Chicago plant, which employs about 2,175 hourly workers.

"Sales of MKS are strong," Kozleski said. "There is a decline in the large car segment that is more attributable to the other products."

Ford said Wednesday it had cut its second-half 2008 production plan due to lower sales to rental car companies, lower production associated with the transfer of Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator assembly operations from Michigan to Kentucky, and a cut in its U.S. industry sales forecast.

(Reporting by David Bailey; editing by John Wallace)