Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn is investing more than $1.45 billion in two southeast Michigan manufacturing facilities, and adding 3,000 new jobs to bolster its truck and SUV production, and support the company’s expansion into electric and autonomous vehicles.
The automaker is investing approximately $750 million and adding 2,700 new direct jobs at its manufacturing facility in Wayne during the next three years. Ford will install new equipment to support production of the all-new Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger as well as create a new modification center.
Employees at Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle, Bronco, and Ranger modification center in Wayne will complete Ford’s first autonomous vehicles starting in 2021, including installing the vehicles’ self-driving technology and unique purpose-built interiors. This will be the first center of its kind for Ford and will drive synergies with the company’s existing AV research functions in Dearborn and Detroit. At that same location, Bronco and Ranger will be modified for customers.
At Ford’s Dearborn manufacturing site, 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 also will create a new operation in Dearborn where battery cells will be assembled into a battery pack for the F-150 hybrid and all-electric F-150.
“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,” says Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Automotive. “As America’s No. 1 producer of automobiles, we are proud of our commitment to invest in manufacturing here in Michigan.”
The company’s investments are supported by Ford’s partnership with the UAW, as well as with federal, state, county, and local governments.
“The UAW is proud of Ford’s commitment to manufacturing in the United States and in Michigan,” says Roy Gamble, president of the UAW. “This is a direct result of the 2019 collective bargaining process, providing additional jobs – and job security – for UAW members in southeast Michigan.”
In the 2019 UAW-Ford contract, Ford pledged to invest $6 billion in its U.S. factories, creating or retaining 8,500 jobs.
Ford says it’s all-new Bronco will be unveiled in the spring of 2020. This off-road SUV will be built alongside Ranger at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant.
