Ford to Create 3,000 Factory Jobs in Michigan as Part of New UAW Contract
17 Dezembro 2019 - 05:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Colias
Ford Motor Co. will invest nearly $1.5 billion in two Michigan
assembly plants, creating about 3,000 factory jobs in a politically
pivotal state.
Ford said Tuesday that it will overhaul a plant in Wayne, Mich.,
just west of Detroit, to build a new Bronco sport-utility vehicle,
starting in late 2020, as well as continue production of the Ranger
pickup truck. Those plans will add about 2,700 employees, the
company said.
Part of the money also will be spent on retooling a factory in
Dearborn, Mich., Ford's hometown, to build electrified versions of
its top-selling F-150 pickup truck, the company's profit engine.
The auto maker said it also will begin a battery-assembly operation
at the factory, which will add about 300 jobs.
Ford last month said it would spend about $6 billion in the U.S.
and add or retain 8,500 jobs as part of a new four-year labor
contract with the United Auto Workers. The investment and jobs
disclosed Tuesday are included in those totals, a Ford spokesman
said.
Ford's plans for the two Michigan plants reflect broad trends
playing out in the car business. Until last year, the Wayne plant
produced small cars, including the Ford Focus, before the company
phased out those vehicles to make way for bigger vehicles that
generate much higher profit margins. Ford and rivals General Motors
Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have pared most passenger cars
from their U.S. showrooms to focus on trucks and SUVs.
Meanwhile, auto makers are steering significant investment
toward electric vehicles, coaxed by tougher regulations in overseas
markets as well as the emergence of Tesla Inc. and other
electric-vehicle startups. Ford plans to introduce a
hybrid-electric F-150 next year, and its first fully electric
version of the truck is planned within a few years.
President Trump has pressured Detroit's auto makers during his
tenure to create U.S. factory jobs by building more vehicles
domestically, with mixed success.
GM last year drew the president's ire when it disclosed plans to
close factories in Ohio and Michigan, for example. Even before he
won the election in 2016, Mr. Trump criticized Ford for plans to
build a car factory in Mexico, which the company later reversed,
citing changing market conditions as well as the desire to invest
more in the U.S.
But over the past year, Detroit auto makers have outlined plans
to add thousands of U.S. jobs, including in Ford's announcement
Tuesday.
Fiat Chrysler in February said it would spent about $4.5 billion
on a new production in Michigan, including a new Jeep factory in
Detroit, creating more than 6,000 jobs. GM recently reversed plans
to shutter one of the plants slated for closure, a Detroit assembly
plant, where it now plans to spend about $3 billion to make
electric trucks and other vehicles, and it is investing more than
$1 billion on a new battery-cell factory in Ohio, to be jointly
operated with Korea's LG Chem.
Last year, Ford idled the Wayne plant and laid off roughly 2,000
workers for several months as it overhauled the facility to build
the Ranger, which Ford introduced in January after having phased
out the truck from its U.S. lineup. The company removed the Focus
and C-Max small cars to make way for the Ranger.
"We are investing aggressively in building on our strengths
today, including trucks and SUVs, while at the same time expanding
our leadership into electric and autonomous vehicles," said Joe
Hinrichs, president of Ford's automotive operations.
Ford said it also will use the Wayne plant to make systems and
interiors for autonomous vehicles, starting in 2021. Ford has said
it would introduce an autonomous-vehicle service sometime that
year.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2019 15:03 ET (20:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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