Ford to expand US plants with US$ 1.6 billion investments

Ford Motor Company is investing US$ 1.6 billion (Rs 10,645 crore) to upgrade two of its manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Ohio, and creating or retaining 650 hourly jobs in the United States.

The US$ 1.4 billion (Rs 9,314 crore) investment in Livonia Transmission Plant and US$ 200 million (Rs 1,330 crore) investment in Ohio Assembly Plant are part of the US$ 9 billion (Rs 59,877 crore) commitment the company made in the 2015 UAW-Ford collective bargaining agreement to continue investing in its US plants.

Ford has invested $12 billion (Rs 79,836 crore) in its US plants and created a total of nearly 28,000 U.S. jobs in the past five years.

“We are proud that Ford employs more hourly workers and builds more vehicles in the United States than any other automaker,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, the Americas. “We are committed to manufacturing in the United States, as we have been for more than 100 years.”

Ford’s latest investment creates or retains 500 hourly jobs in Michigan at Livonia Transmission Plant to build a new 10-speed transmission to be first introduced in the all-new F-150 Raptor and certain F-150 models. The investment and 150 hourly jobs at Ohio Assembly Plant, located in Avon Lake, will be used to build Super Duty chassis cab. Both F-Series trucks are part of Ford’s toughest, smartest, most capable truck lineup ever.

Ford has committed to 2,800 US jobs in the past five months. The company has committed to a total of 8,500 hourly jobs in the US during the next four years in communities across Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York and Ohio.

“I am thrilled that through our collective bargaining with Ford we were able to secure a substantial investment for the communities of Southeast Michigan and Northeast Ohio,” said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president, National Ford Department. “The men and women of both Livonia Transmission and Ohio Assembly have shown a great commitment to manufacturing quality products, and we look forward to their continued success.”

Livonia Transmission Plant

Livonia Transmission Plant employs more than 1,550 people. It builds a six-speed transmission that is used in a number of products including Mustang, F-150, Transit and Expedition. Production begins in June for the new 10-speed transmission.

Ohio Assembly Plant

Ohio Assembly Plant employs more than 1,650 people. It began building F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty chassis cab configurations earlier this year. The plant also produces Ford F-650 and F-750, which was insourced from Mexico last year, as well as Ford E-Series cutaway vans and stripped chassis. 

Also read: Ford to invest US$ 1.6 billion in small car plant in Mexico