Duane Moore applies a badge to the all-new 2019 Ranger. Moore is going to get a few thousand new co-workers in the next few years.
Ford Motor Co. is investing more than $1.45 billion in two Michigan plants to bolster is truck production and development and production of electric and autonomous vehicles.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker will add a total of 3,000 jobs at facilities in Dearborn and Wayne, Michigan.
Ford is investing approximately $750 million and adding 2,700 new direct jobs at its Wayne manufacturing facility during the next three years. The company plans to install new equipment to build of the all-new Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger as well as create a new modification center.
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“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, Automotive. “As America’s No. 1 producer of automobiles, we are proud of our commitment to invest in manufacturing here in Michigan.”
Employees at Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle, Bronco and Ranger modification center in Wayne will complete Ford’s first autonomous vehicles starting in 2021, the company said.
The process includes installing the vehicles’ self-driving technology and purpose-built interiors. The center will be a first for Ford and will work in concert with the automakers’ AV research efforts in Dearborn and Detroit.
Additionally, that same location, will make modifications ordered by customers for the soon-to-come Bronco and Ranger.
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In Dearborn, Ford will add 300 jobs and invest about $700 million to support production of new electrified variants of its F-150 truck, producing both a F-150 hybrid and fully electric F-150. Ford will also create a new operation in Dearborn here battery cells will be assembled into a battery pack for the two trucks.
The company’s investments appear the first of a guaranteed $6 billion to bring new business for the UAW. The guarantee came in the recently negotiated agreement between the automaker and the union.
“The UAW is proud of Ford’s commitment to manufacturing in the United States and in Michigan,” said UAW President Rory Gamble. “This is a direct result of the 2019 collective bargaining process, providing additional jobs – and job security – for UAW members in Southeast Michigan.”
In 2020, Ford will debut the all-new F-150 and F-150 hybrid. The fully electric Ford F-150 is coming soon after and will be part of the company’s more than $11.5 billion global electrified vehicle investment. Dearborn Truck Plant will build these Ford F-150s, part of Ford F-Series, America’s best-selling truck for 42 straight years.
(Ford, UAW Reach a Deal That May Include $6 Billion in New Investment)
The Ford Bronco will be revealed in the spring of 2020. This all-new off-road SUV will be built alongside the Ford Ranger at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant, as it looks to take advantage of U.S. consumers’ desires for SUVs rather than sedans.