Ford to Invest $1.45 Billion, Create 3,000 Jobs Near Detroit
Ford Motor Company on Tuesday announced plans to create 3,000 jobs and invest $1.45 billion in two manufacturing facilities near Detroit.
The U.S. car manufacturer said in a press release that it will hire 2,700 new workers and invest $750 million in the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, a Detroit suburb. Workers at the facility will work on Ford’s new self-driving cars as well as production of the Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger. The company’s self-driving cars are projected to debut in 2021.
Another 300 new employees will be hired and $700 million will be invested in Ford’s truck facility in Dearborn, Michigan. That manufacturing site focuses on Ford’s electric cars.
Hiring at the facilities will begin next year.
The hefty investment comes as U.S. new vehicle sales have risen to about 17 million vehicles per year, where they remain steady.
“At Ford, 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, Ford’s president of its global automotive division. “As America’s No. 1 producer of automobiles, we are proud of our commitment to invest in manufacturing here in Michigan.”
The United Auto Workers union hailed the company’s investment, saying it is “proud of Ford’s commitment to manufacturing in the United States and in Michigan.”
“This is a direct result of the 2019 collective bargaining process, providing additional jobs – and job security – for UAW members in Southeast Michigan,” the union said.
The union, which represents 158,000 workers across the auto industry, renegotiated its labor deals with Ford earler this year, including an agreement that Ford will invest $6 billion in its U.S. factories and create or retain 8,500 jobs.
President Trump has encouraged companies to manufacture their products in the U.S. but has also slammed Ford for reaching an agreement with California on stricter fuel economy standards as his administration seeks to relax such rules.
“Henry Ford would be very disappointed if he saw his modern-day descendants wanting to build a much more expensive car, that is far less safe and doesn’t work as well, because execs don’t want to fight California regulators,” the president wrote on Twitter in August.
