By B. Raack, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Ford Motor Company and Missouri officials are downplaying a newspaper report that the automaker plans to close its Hazelwood assembly plant in August 2005 and move production of two SUV's to Louisville.
A Ford spokesman says no fixed date has been set for the closure, aside from that move coming by mid-decade. And Missouri congressman Dick Gephardt says a state task force is still working to change Ford's mind.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that a newsletter by the United Auto Workers gave August 2005 as the Hazelwood plant's closure date.