A two-week summer idle at several of its factories over the summer is a time-tested method to keep production in line with demand at Ford, but the announcement today reveals some plants will be going on extended holiday - in one case, for as long as nine weeks. Weak demand for pickups and large SUVs has led Ford to realign its production goals to include more small cars, and this shutdown is part of that adjustment.

The three plants subject to the summer closure include the Michigan truck plant, Kentucky Super Duty truck plant and the Louisville assembly plant, reports Automotive News. The two latter factories will be closed for four weeks each, while the Michigan truck plant, which produces the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator large SUVs, will be closed for nine weeks.

It's an unsurprising move considering the dismal sales results posted at the Blue Oval in May, with total sales down 16% and Expedition and Navigator sales down 31% and 22%, respectively. Ford announced just a few days ago that it would be making more job cuts due to output cutbacks of 280,000 to 350,000 vehicles this year.