Ford to Expand Production in Michigan, Creating 900 American Jobs

Ford employees applaud at an event that celebrates the opening of the new U.S. production
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Ford Motor Company executives have announced a new investment in American workers and the state of Michigan with plans to invest $900 million in the United States, set to create 900 U.S. jobs.

In an announcement this week, Ford executives said the corporation will expand production in the U.S. with a $900 million investment that will go toward the Flat Rock Michigan Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan.

The investment includes an $850 million investment in the Flat Rock Assembly Plant to manufacture next-generation fully electric vehicles, along with the addition of a second shift for auto workers. The Flat Rock plant will produce the next-generation Mustang hybrid.

Ford’s plans, which executives said will be executed by 2023, also includes a $50 million investment toward an assembly plant that produces self-driving vehicles in the southeast Michigan region.

American workers at the self-driving car plant will install the self-driving technology and “unique interiors,” executives said. Overall, the plans will create 900 American jobs for U.S. auto workers.

While expanding auto production in the U.S., Ford will continue producing some vehicles in Cuautitlan, Mexico, though the corporation has not announced an expansion of production in Mexico.

United Auto Workers (UAW) Vice President Rory Gamble praised the investment in a statement:

Ford’s $900 million in investments, most of which is in the Flat Rock facility, sets up the downriver Detroit facility to be the center of electric vehicles for years to come. As we transition to new technology and future products, Flat Rock through this investment, is well positioned to be a world leader for decades to come in auto industry technology and production. [Emphasis added]

Ford’s expansion of auto production in the U.S. is just the latest planned investment for American auto workers, a victory for President Trump’s economic nationalist agenda. Most recently, Toyota announced a $13 billion investment in the U.S. that will create about 600 American jobs. Similarly, Fiat Chrysler executives said they will reopen an idled Detroit plant and create 6,500 American jobs by investing $4.5 billion.

While some automakers plan to expand their production in the U.S., General Motors (GM) has continued laying off 14,700 workers in the U.S. and Canada. The bulk of those layoffs are from GM CEO Mary Barra’s decision to close four American plants this year, including their Detroit-Hamtramck and Warren Transmission plants in Michigan, the Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, and Baltimore Operations in Maryland. Rather than expanding auto production in America, GM will ramp up production in China.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. 

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