Union woes at Johnson Controls hurts GM

General Motors Corp. cut a shift at a Venezuelan automotive plant and Ford Motor Co. may trim production there tomorrow as a labor dispute slows work at supplier Johnson Controls Inc., El Nacional reported.

Employees in Venezuela at Johnson Controls, the world's largest maker of auto seats, are reducing output to 80 seats a day from 400 as they try to create a new union and demand talks mediated by the national government, El Nacional said.

Ford may pare assembly of Fiesta cars, Explorer sport- utility vehicles and F-350 pickups unless the Milwaukee-based partsmaker restores production, the Caracas newspaper said.

The labor moves add to the challenges this year for Venezuelan auto assemblers, who will probably make about 260,000 vehicles, down from almost 500,000 last year, the newspaper said, citing Jose Luis Hernandez, president of the Venezuelan Chamber of Vehicle Product Makers.

Spokesmen at GM and Ford didn't immediately return calls to their Venezuelan offices seeking comment.