Ford is cutting down production at eight factories starting Feb. 7 as the company recently warned that a shortage of computer chips would cause a fall in vehicle volumes for the first quarter of 2022. Production at plants in Chicago, Michigan, and Cuautitlan, Mexico, will be suspended, according to Reuters. At factories in Kentucky, Louisville, and Dearborn, Ford plans to reduce schedules or even run single shifts. At the Oakville factory in Canada, Ford is looking at getting rid of overtime. At a plant in Kansas, Ford aims to scale down production of its F-150 pickup trucks while one shift will be dedicated to Transit van production. Ford representatives did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Just a day earlier, the Dearborn automaker had released its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings (pdf). As it missed Wall Street expectations, shares of the company fell on Thursday trading. The share, …