Jan 3, 2017

Ford To $700 million Invest In Michigan

Today, Ford Motor Company announced it will not be building its new $1.6 billion plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico; although it confirmed the next generation Ford Focus compacts would indeed be made at their Hermosillo plant, as anticipated.

Instead, Ford will invest $700 million in its Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant.

It will hire 700 new workers to build self-driving, and electric vehicles, in addition to the Mustang and Lincoln Continentals already made in the area.

Ford’s CEO, Mark Fields, said the decision was based on (i) changing auto market conditions and (ii) expectations that America’s business climate will improve once President Elect Donald Trump assumes office.

Fields stated:

We look at all the factors, and our view is we see a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under president elect Trump and the pro-growth policies and proposals that he is talking about, so this is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump and some of the policies that they may be pursuing.

Ford To Expand Louisville Assembly Plant

In November of 2016, Ford Motor Company confirmed that it was not moving its Lincoln MKC production from Louisville, Kentucky, to Mexico—instead, they promised to invest $700 million over 4 years to upgrade the Louisville plant, expanding its capacity.

They estimate they will need to hire 300 new full-time employees.

Ford’s representative, Christin Baker, says that Ford was:

encouraged that President-elect Trump and the new Congress will pursue policies that will improve US competitiveness and make it possible to keep production of this vehicle here in the United States.

Between these two investments, Ford has promised 1,000 jobs in total, and $1.4 billion in new investments in America.

It is not just Ford who sees blue skies ahead—US Steel has also announced up to 10,000 new jobs.