Ford is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. It will invest $700 million in Michigan instead, creating 700 new U.S. jobs.

Ford (F) CEO Mark Fields said the investment is a "vote of confidence" in the pro-business environment being created by Donald Trump. However, he stressed Ford did not do any sort of special deal with the president-elect.

"We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business," Fields told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

The $700 million investment will go to the Flat Rock, Michigan plant to produce more electric and self-driving cars. Ford believes electrified vehicles will outsell gas-powered vehicles within the next 15 years.

Ford is planning to roll out seven new electric vehicles in the next five years, including a Mustang Hybrid.

This is a major U-turn for Ford. Trump repeatedly slammed Ford on the campaign trail for shipping U.S. jobs to Mexico (a claim the company said was wrong). The president-elect has kept up the pressure. Just hours before the Ford announcement, Trump criticized GM (GM) for producing cars in Mexico. All of the big car manufacturers currently have some production in Mexico.

Trump tweeted "thank you" to Ford Wednesday and said, "This is just the beginning - much more to follow."

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/816635078067490816

Related: Sprint will create 5,000 U.S. jobs

A big U-turn for Ford

Last year, Ford announced it would invest $1.6 billion in Mexico to transfer production of the Ford Focus from Michigan to Mexico to save costs. Now the Focus will be built at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, and Ford will instead expand its plant in Michigan.

Trump threatened to slap a 35% tariff on Ford vehicles made in Mexico and sold in the U.S., although experts say it is not possible for Trump do that to a single U.S. company.

The president-elect reiterated that threat again to GM Tuesday, tweeting, "Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!"

Ford's CEO tried to walk a delicate line on how much Trump influenced this major change in the company's plans. He praised Trump for his vows to cut taxes and scale back regulations on businesses, but stressed Ford's decision was "done independently" of the president.

"This does make a heck of a lot of sense for business reasons. Political favor is an advantageous byproduct," says Bernard Swiecki, senior automotive analyst at the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan.

Ford is saving money by investing only $700 million instead of the $1.6 billion it originally planned.

After record years of U.S. car sales, there are signs of a slowdown. Small cars have been especially lousy sellers lately, which is why Ford is still moving production to Mexico. U.S. car workers make an average of $28 an hour, Swiecki says. In Mexico, workers average about $5.50 an hour.

Related: Car sales: The party may be over

Ford workers cheer

Trump won a lot of support from union workers for his tough talk on stopping jobs from going abroad and renegotiating NAFTA. The United Auto Workers union that represents Ford workers was "thrilled" with Ford's new plans. So were employees at the Flat Rock plant.

"It's great news. Great for our future here, especially the new hires," Chris Romano, a Ford factory worker in Flat Rock, told CNN.

Workers at the plant make $20 to $30 an hour, Romano said. He believes it was a "good call" by Trump to pressure companies to keep jobs in the U.S.

The Mexican government said it "regrets" Ford's decision and stressed that jobs created in Mexico are not necessarily a loss for the U.S.

"Jobs created in Mexico have contributed to maintaining manufacturing jobs in the United States, which would otherwise have disappeared to Asian competition," the Mexican government said in a statement Tuesday.

Trump taking credit for jobs

Ford currently employs 85,000 Americans, up 28,000, or nearly 50%, from five years ago. In Mexico, Ford employs 8,800.

The automaker fought back against Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail, saying he had his facts wrong and that the company never planned to cut any U.S. jobs. In October, Bill Ford called Trump's criticism of the automaker founded by his great-grandfather "infuriating." Now the company is softening its tone.

Ford stock jumped over 3% after the announcement.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway tweeted out the Ford news with just one comment: "#AmericaFirst." Trump has been taking credit for a number of announcements companies like Carrier and Sprint have made in recent weeks to keep jobs in the U.S. or create new ones.

So far, commitments of 51,500 jobs have been made by Carrier (800 jobs), Ford (700 jobs) and SoftBank (50,000 jobs, which includes the 5,000 at Sprint), although it's controversial how much of a role Trump played.

The U.S. has been averaging about 125,000 private sector job gains a month for the past year under President Obama.</s>Ford will build in Michigan and sell in North America, Europe, and Asia, an electric SUV capable of traveling more than 300 miles on a single charge, the automaker announced Tuesday. The electric car would go on sale by 2020.

Ford chief Mark Fields outlined the automaker's wide-ranging plans for 13 all-electric or hybrid vehicles by the end of the decade, which includes a Ford F-150 Hybrid model and a Ford Mustang Hybrid variant as well.

Fields said the automaker would spend $700 million on upgrades to Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant, which currently builds the Mustang and Lincoln Continental, to build the new electric SUV. According to Ford, the SUV built in Flat Rock would be sold in North America, Europe, and Asia.

In 2015, Ford announced it would spend $1.6 billion to build a new vehicle plant in Mexico that would eventually build the Focus and slow-selling hybrid C-Max, but the automaker scrapped those plans Tuesday and said the money would be redirected toward upgrades for Flat Rock.

The new electric SUV could take on directly the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and coming Tesla Model III, which both deliver more than 200 miles of electric range at a lower price. Although the Bolt EV is shaped like a small hatchback, rival General Motors insists on calling the Bolt EV a "crossover," noting the car's taller seating position.

It's not immediately clear what the new electric SUV from Ford will look like. Last year Ford announced that it would sell in the U.S. a smaller crossover than its Escape, dubbed Ecosport, that would be built—at least initially—in India. The new SUV could be based on that platform—or take an entirely different shape when it arrives by 2020.

According to Hau Thai-Tang, VP of global purchasing for Ford, the electric SUV will be sold in all 50 states and across the world.

Ford said its $700 million investment in Flat Rock would cover both the electric SUV and a self-driving car that will be used for ride-sharing services, but didn't specify size or the cars' intended segments. It wasn't clear if the self-driving car and the electric SUV would share the same platform either.</s>Before he's even taken office, President-elect Donald Trump has proven to be quite the job creator.

Ford Motor Company announced Tuesday it will cancel a $1.6 billion plant planned for Mexico and will instead invest $700 million in a Michigan assembly plant, directly tying the decision to “pro-growth policies” championed by President-elect Donald Trump.

Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION & JOB CREATION.https://t.co/siXrptsOrt — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017

Trump had previously been critical of Ford’s plans to build in Mexico. After the announcement, Trump tweeted a link to a story about the Ford decision and then added in a subsequent message: "Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION & JOB CREATION."

“We’re doing this decision based on what’s right for our business,” Ford CEO Mark Fields told Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Network. “As we think about the investments here in Michigan, as you can imagine, Neil, we look at a lot of factors as we make those. One of the factors that we’re looking at is a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and some of the pro-growth policies he said he’s going to pursue. And so this is a vote of confidence.”

WATCH: FORD CEO MARK FIELDS ON FOX BUSINESS NETWORK

Fields said Ford would have gone ahead with the decision whether or not Trump was elected president, however, he did say that he alerted both Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence ahead of the announcement on Tuesday.



The Ford news was the latest in a string of pre-inauguration successes for Trump in the manufacturing sector.

In early December, air conditioner and furnace maker Carrier agreed to stay in Indiana after weeks of negotiations headed by Pence. The decision reportedly saved about 700 jobs that would have been shifted to Mexico.

Later in the month, wireless provider Sprint and Internet company OneWeb announced they would be adding thousands of jobs in the U.S. Both companies are controlled by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who had previously met with Trump.

Earlier Tuesday morning, Trump took aim at another auto giant: General Motors.

"General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" Trump tweeted.

GM, however, quickly pushed back on Trump's assertions.

"GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S." a statement said.

The investment in the Flat Rock Assembly Plant is set to create 700 jobs, according to Fields. The money, which was taken from the $1.6 billion earmarked for the Mexico plant, will be used to open a new factory that will build high-tech autonomous and electric vehicles as well as the Mustang and Lincoln Continental, the company said in a press release.

"I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers," UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said in the release. "The men and women of Flat Rock Assembly have shown a great commitment to manufacturing quality products, and we look forward to their continued success with a new generation of high-tech vehicles."</s>Donald Trump’s use of Twitter will keep making people nervous — when used to saber-rattle against nuclear-armed adversaries, for instance — and repulsed — when it’s a platform for his petty feuds.

But the president-elect showed dramatically Monday that it can be an instrument of power that gets fast results.

In the morning, he weighed in against House Republicans for their secret vote one day before to gut the power of the ethics watchdogs tasked with ferreting out corruption within their ranks.

“With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it ... may be, their number one act and priority,” said the back-to-back tweets. “Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!”

House Republicans held an emergency meeting and by early afternoon, the plan was put on the shelf. See Newsday’s story by Emily Ngo and Laura Figueroa.

Ethics issues may return to the spotlight on Jan. 11 when Trump is scheduled to hold a news conference. Trump has promised details on how he can avoid conflicts of interest with his global family-run business empire.

The take-way: The eth-thick of it

A close reading of Trump’s tweets shows he wasn’t unsympathetic to the core complaint of a majority of House Republicans. He called it “unfair.”

Trump’s big gripe was over the timing, writes Newsday’s Dan Janison, leaving open the chance that the House GOP can try again at a later date without objection from the 45th president.

True to form, Hillary Clinton took her time deliberating and consulting friends and advisers before deciding this: She and Bill Clinton will attend Trump’s inauguration. Sources told New York Magazine it was out of a sense of duty and respect for the democratic process.

Former President George W. Bush, who did not support fellow Republican Trump, will also be there with his wife, Laura, “to witness the peaceful transfer of power,” a spokesman announced Monday.

Former President Jimmy Carter was an early yes. The other living ex-president, George H.W. Bush, who is in frail health, is not going.

Trump claimed another win when Ford Motor Co. said it was canceling plans to build a new, $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and will invest at least some of the savings in new electric and autonomous vehicles to be built in the U.S.

“This is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump . . . and some of the policies he may be pursuing,” said Ford CEO Mark Fields.

However, General Motors pushed back after Trump tweeted that the company is “sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border.” He threatened GM with a “big border tax!”

GM said all but 4,500 of the 190,000 Cruzes sold in 2016 were U.S.-made.

Trump tweeted Monday night that the briefing he is due to receive on the intelligence community’s findings about Russia’s role in campaign cyberhacking has been delayed — and he indicated he finds that suspicious.

The tweet: “The ‘Intelligence’ briefing on so-called ‘Russian hacking’ was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!”

NBC News said it was told by a senior intelligence official that the briefing on hacking was always scheduled for Friday.

Schumer to Trump: Get serious

In his first speech as Senate minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) appealed to Trump to keep promises he made to win working-class votes, warned him about coarse, divisive language and criticized him for taking a hard-right turn with his Cabinet nominees.

Schumer also took aim at Trump for being Twitter-happy, reports Newsday’s Tom Brune. “With all due respect, America cannot afford a Twitter presidency,” he said. “These issues are complex and demand both careful consideration and action. We cannot tweet them away.”

Trump is reported to have said he likes Schumer more than some fellow Republicans. Schumer told CNN: “When you get to be in my position, people do tend to want to flatter you and you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt.”

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said there won’t be any change of plans in response to Trump’s call for no more releases from the Guantánamo military prison, where terrorists have been held.

The Obama administration is preparing to release another 19 of the 59 detainees at the facility before the president leaves office, The Washington Post reported. “There is one commander in chief at a time, and the secretary of defense will continue to carry out his responsibilities as he sees appropriate,” said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook.

What else is happening
• Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner — both expected to have big White House roles — have competed a deal for a six-bedroom house in Washington’s tony Kalorama neighborhood, reports the Washingtonian magazine. The Obamas will be moving to a house less than two blocks away.
• Omarosa Manigault — a memorable (though twice-fired) contestant on Trump’s “The Apprentice” and “The Celebrity Apprentice” — is getting a White House job described as public engagement. She’s been there before as a staffer for Vice President Al Gore during the Bill Clinton administration.
• Trump, who decried shortcomings in VA hospitals during the campaign, is still searching for a Veterans Affairs secretary. He met Monday with Lockheed Martin executive Leo Mackay Jr., a former top official in the department, Politico says.
• Trump shared a stage at his Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party with a onetime pal of the late mob boss John Gotti, CNN says. Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque, who has a record for possessing stolen art, heads a hospitality rating company that has bestowed awards on Trump properties.
• While Trump vows North Korea won’t attain intercontinental nuclear missiles, his options are slim, The Associated Press says: diplomatic concessions, sanctions that haven’t worked, and high-risk military action.
• Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington estimate 200,000 people will participate in its Jan. 21 anti-Trump protest, Politico says.
• Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says private information gathered on so-called Dreamers — 740,000 young immigrants in the U.S. without proper documents — should not be used to deport them, Politico reported.</s>Ford is scrapping its plans for a new $1.6 billion plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and will invest $700 million in the expansion of the Flat Rock, Michigan plant, Bloomberg News reports.</s>Ford Motor Co said Tuesday it will cancel a planned $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and will invest $700 million at a Michigan factory, after it had come under harsh criticism from President-elect Donald Trump for its Mexican investment plans.

The second largest U.S. automaker said it would build new electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant.

Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields said the decision to cancel the new plant in Mexico was in part related to the need to "fully utilize capacity at existing facilities" amid declining sales of small and medium sized cars such as the Focus and Fusion.

Fields also endorsed "pro growth" tax and regulatory policies advocated by Trump and the Republican led Congress.

Trump repeatedly said during the election campaign that if elected he would not allow Ford to open the new plant in Mexico, which he called an "absolute disgrace" and would slap hefty tariffs taxes on imported Ford vehicles.

Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. told reporters that he spoke with Trump to notify him of the decision. A Ford source said the decision was influenced by Trump's policy goals such as lowering taxes and regulations but there were no negotiations between Ford and the Republican over the decision to cancel the Mexico plant or invest in Michigan.

Also on Tuesday, Trump threatened to impose a "big border tax" on General Motors Co for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze cars in Mexico. The New York businessman takes office on Jan. 20.

Fields said Ford will build a battery electric SUV with a 300-mile driving range at the Michigan plant by 2020, and will launch production there by 2021 of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or a brake pedal for use in ride services fleets. Ford also plans new hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup truck, Mustang and police vehicles by 2020.

Ford will add 700 jobs at the Flat Rock plant, Fields said, to cheers from union workers gathered at the factory for the announcement.

Ford in April announced it would invest $1.6 billion in the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico to build small cars. The company said it will shift production from Michigan of its Focus to an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. Trump had urged Ford to cancel the planned Mexican plant.

When Trump announced his campaign in June, 2015, he said Ford would cancel its planned Mexico investments. "They'll say,'Mr. President we've decided to move the plant back to the United States - we're not going to build it in Mexico.' That's it. They have no choice," Trump said.

Trump tweeted a link on Tuesday to a story about the decision.

Ford said it will add two new unnamed products at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, where the Focus is manufactured today.</s>NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ford is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. It will invest $700 million in Michigan instead, creating 700 new U.S. jobs.

Ford CEO Mark Fields said the investment is a “vote of confidence” in the pro-business environment president-elect Donald Trump is creating. However, he stressed Ford did not do any sort of special deal with Trump.

“We didn’t cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business,” Fields told CNN’s Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

The $700 million investment will go to the Flat Rock, Michigan plant to produce more electric and self-driving cars. Ford believes electric vehicles will outsell gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 15 years.

“I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers,” said Jimmy Settles, United Auto Workers vice president.

Last year, Ford announced it would invest $1.6 billion in Mexico to build the Ford Focus. Instead, the Focus will be built at an existing plant in Mexico, and Ford will expand its plant in Flat Rock.

“Our announcements today are really a vote of confidence in the economy,” said Fields.

Trump repeatedly slammed Ford on the campaign trail, claiming the company was moving good manufacturing jobs to Mexico. He vowed to slap a 35% tariff on Ford vehicles made in Mexico and sold in the U.S.

Ford fought back against Trump’s rhetoric, saying he had his facts wrong and that the company never planned to cut any U.S. jobs.

Ford currently employs 85,000 Americans, up 28,000, or nearly 50%, in just the last five years. In Mexico, Ford employs 8,800.</s>FLAT ROCK, Mich. (AP) – Ford is canceling plans to build a new $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and will invest $700 million in a Michigan plant to build new electric and autonomous vehicles.

Ford, however, still plans to shift production of the Focus small car to Mexico and will make the car at an existing plant. President-elect Donald Trump has been pressuring Ford to keep production of the Focus in the U.S.

The company made the announcements Tuesday at a factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, near Detroit. The factory will get 700 new jobs.

Among the new vehicles it will make are a fully electric small SUV with 300 miles of range.

Ford also plans a gas-electric hybrid version of the F-150 pickup.</s>Ford is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. It will invest $700 million in Michigan instead, creating 700 new U.S. jobs.

Ford (F) CEO Mark Fields said the investment is a "vote of confidence" in the pro-business environment being created by Donald Trump. However, he stressed Ford did not do any sort of special deal with the president-elect.

"We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business," Fields told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

The $700 million investment will go to the Flat Rock, Michigan plant to produce more electric and self-driving cars. Ford believes electric vehicles will outsell gas-powered vehicles within the next 15 years.

Ford is planning to roll out seven new electric vehicles in the next five years, including a Mustang Hybrid.

Ford executives spoke with Trump and vice-president elect Mike Pence this morning. Just hours before the Ford announcement, Trump criticized GM (GM) for producing cars in Mexico.

"I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers," said Jimmy Settles, United Auto Workers vice president.

The news is a major U-turn for Ford. Last year, the company announced it would invest $1.6 billion in Mexico to transfer production of the Ford Focus from Michigan to Mexico to save costs. Now the Focus will be built at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, and Ford will instead expand its plant in Michigan.

"This is a vote of confidence" in Trump and the economy, said Fields. We are "encouraged by pro-growth policies, particularly reform around tax and regulatory policies."

Trump repeatedly slammed Ford on the campaign trail, claiming the company was moving good manufacturing jobs from the U.S. to Mexico. He vowed to slap a 35% tariff on Ford vehicles made in Mexico and sold in the U.S., although experts say it is not possible for Trump do that to a single U.S. company.

"When that car comes back across the border into our country that now comes in free, we're gonna charge them a 35% tax," Trump told Fox in September. "And you know what's gonna happen, they're never going to leave."

Related: Car sales: The party may be over

Ford fought back against Trump's rhetoric, saying he had his facts wrong and that the company never planned to cut any U.S. jobs.

Ford currently employs 85,000 Americans, up 28,000, or nearly 50%, from five years ago. In Mexico, Ford employs 8,800.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway tweeted out the Ford news with just one comment: "#AmericaFirst." Trump has been taking credit for a number of announcements companies like Carrier and Sprint have made in recent weeks to keep jobs in the U.S. or create new ones.

So far, commitments of 51,500 jobs have been made by Carrier, SoftBank and Ford, although it's controversial how much of a role Trump played. The U.S. has been averaging about 125,000 private sector job gains a month for the past year under President Obama.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder sent out a statement: "Thank you, Ford, for your continued confidence in our state and our people."</s>Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today that it will spend $700 million to turn its Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant into a hub for electric and self-driving vehicle assembly.

Separately, the automaker says that it is canning a $1.6 billion new plant it had intended to build in Mexico.

Sources close to the automaker reportedly told media gathered this morning in Flat Rock, a suburb of Detroit, that the decision to allocate investment in Michigan and not Mexico was not due to negotiations with the incoming Donald Trump administration. However, Ford executives spoke with Trump this morning to inform the president-elect and his team ahead of the automaker's formal announcement.

MORE: Details on Ford's hybrid and electric push

The investment in Michigan will create 700 new jobs there, Ford says. It did not say how many jobs were planned for the now-canceled plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. However, Ford is by no means exiting vehicle assembly in Mexico; it confirmed today that its next-generation Focus compact car will be built there, at its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico.

The Flat Rock plant currently builds the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental, but it will soon also operate as something of a hub for hybrid, electric, and autonomous cars. Ford announced today that three new products will be built in Flat Rock soon:
• In 2020, an all-electric small SUV/crossover to be sold in North America, Europe, and Asia.
• In 2020, a hybrid version of the Ford Mustang sports coupe
• In 2021, a self-driving hybrid vehicle designed for ride-sharing and taxi use.

While Ford has so far remained mostly mum about these vehicles' details, they are part of a $4.5 billion investment in electric and hybrid tech to be spread across several facilities.

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Ford announces that it has cancelled plans to build a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico, long criticized by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and will invest $700 million in its Michigan plant in Flat Rock, potentially creating 700 new jobs from the investment and expansion of the plant.