ST. PETERSBURG, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - A Ford factory
near Russia's second city of St. Petersburg announced on Monday
it was halting production for ten business days over declining
car sales amid the ongoing global economic crisis.
"The assembly line will stand idle until June 8, after
which the plant will resume operations in a reduced working
week regime," a Ford spokesman said, adding that a 4-day week
would be introduced at the factory until October 5.
The plant in the town of Vsevolozhsk was opened in the
summer of 2002 and employs some 2,200 workers. The factory,
which produces Ford Focus and Mondeo cars, previously announced
it planned to produce 125,000 cars in 2009.
On January 21, the plant restarted its assembly lines,
which were shut down on December 24. In line with Russia's
Labor Code, the company paid its workers two-thirds of their
salaries during the extended holidays.
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