As Chrysler teeters on the brink of total shutdown, and rumors of a merger with General Motors fly about, Ford is adhering closely to its plan to 'rightsize' its operations, chopping production at 10 plants in North America. The closures, which start January 5, will only last a week as part of the plan to cut output by 37.9% in the first quarter.

Ford's only two remaining North American plants will remain open. The plants are the Dearborn, Michigan facility where the F-150 is built and the Kansas City operation that builds the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner in addition to the F-150, reports Automotive News. The Hermosillo, Mexico and Oakville Ontario plants will not reopen the week following the January 5 closures. Those plants build mid-sized sedans and the Ford Flex, Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers, respectively.

More shutdowns will have to take place to get to the 37.9% reduction goal, totaling 430,000 cars. GM has already announced its own production cuts, totaling about 250,000 cars, as has Honda, which will eliminate production of 119,000 vehicles.