DETROIT - Ford Motor Co on said on Tuesday it will eliminate the second shift at a Michigan assembly plant that builds the Ford Mustang and the Mazda 6 sedan, cutting about 900 jobs at the facility.

Ford operates the Flat Rock, Michigan, plant in cooperation with Mazda Motor Corp, the Japanese automaker with which it maintains an alliance. The plant began operation in 1987.

Ford will eliminate the shift at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant from July 12, spokeswoman Marcey Evans said.

Most of the workers at the plant, who are represented by the United Auto Workers union, will be offered work at other Ford plants, she said.

Those who are not offered jobs at other Ford facilities will be offered buyouts under the terms of the automaker's contract with the union, she said.

The Flat Rock plant produced about 102,000 vehicles in 2009.

By reducing the number of down weeks when output is shut down in 2010 and increasing the speed of the assembly line from July, Ford expects to increase output this year even after it eliminates the second shift of production, Evans said.

Ford Executive Vice Chairman Bill Ford Jr., who was speaking to a business group on Tuesday, said the action reflects the automaker's view that the U.S. auto market was still in the early stages of a recovery and not overly robust.

(Reporting by David Bailey, writing by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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