After months of production cuts, Ford now cuts staff at B-Max plant due to poor sales.

Ford Motor will lay off about 680 people at its Romanian division next year, or some 20 percent of the staff, as it adjusts to a weak European market.

Ford took over struggling Romanian carmaker Automobile Craiova in 2008 and started producing its B-Max minivan there two years ago.

However, the B-Max went on sale as customers increasingly began to buy small crossovers instead of minivans. Low demand has led to regular production stoppages each month for more than a year.

The lay offs are intended "to best utilize the remaining workforce at Craiova and to meet current and expected future production requirements," Ford Romania said in a statement Wednesday.

Ford said it is seeking opportunities to source a second vehicle in Craiova.

In the first nine months, European sales of the B-Max fell 21 percent to 43,749, according to JATO Dynamics.

Ford said it will seek voluntary lay offs at Craiova's car and engine plants.

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Ford stops production for third time of poor selling B-max

Ford Motor Co.'s Romanian unit will halt production of the B-Max minivan for 13 days in November, its third straight month of stoppages at the plant in response to weak European demand.

Ford began production of the B-Max in Craiova last year. It now produces roughly 370 cars a day as well as 1,000 engines for several models.

"We will stop car production for 13 days and engine production for eight days in November," said Ford Romania spokeswoman Ana-Maria Timis on Tuesday. "The eight-day stoppage in engine production is caused by low demand for vehicles and overlaps with the period of suspension of car production."

In September and October, Ford had stopped only car output.

Ford Romania employs about 4,000 people, almost all of whom will be affected by the production halt. They will receive 80 percent of their wages during the stoppage.

Ford boosted its full-year global profit forecast last week as the European picture brightened and stronger overseas demand led to better-than-expected quarterly results.

The automaker sold 55,034 B-Max models in the first nine months in Europe, making it the company's No. 4-selling model in the region after the Fiesta, Focus and C-Max, according to data from researcher JATO Dynamics.

Ford recently closed two ancillary plants in England and plans to shut its car assembly factory in Genk, Belgium, at the end of 2014.

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