You might not expect to find local auto workers celebrating these days, but there's reason to party at the Ford stamping plant in Woodlawn. The new Ford Flex is making its debut. The car is born in Buffalo; 80 percent of its skeleton is manufactured by the local workforce.

"And it's nice to know that we were a major part of that," said Jackie Masterson, a local ford worker. "We were the genesis of it basically. We stamped out all the metal."

But demand for the Flex has been week forcing Ford to cut production of the crossover vehicle. Crossovers get gas mileage closer to a car, but have the room of an SUV.

Despite the news that Ford is cutting production of the Flex, many say Ford is about to turn things around.

"There's a lot of changes that we're seeing happening in the plant that kind of assures that we're going to be around for a while," said worker Mike Sanders.

Ford's U.S. auto sales are down 14 percent for the first half of 2008.

On Thursday, Ford is expected to release second-quarter earnings and announce several new fuel-efficient vehicles from the company's European line-up for sale in North America.