bagwell

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/03/news...ump/index.html

Ford is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. It will invest $700 million in Michigan instead, creating 700 new U.S. jobs.

Ford (F) CEO Mark Fields said the investment is a "vote of confidence" in the pro-business environment president-elect Donald Trump is creating. However, he stressed Ford did not do any sort of special deal with Trump.

"We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business," Fields told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Tuesday. He said Ford did speak with Trump and vice-president elect Mike Pence this morning.

The $700 million investment will go to the Flat Rock, Michigan plant to produce more electric and self-driving cars. Ford believes electric vehicles will outsell gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 15 years.

"I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers," said Jimmy Settles, United Auto Workers vice president.

Ford is planning to roll out seven new electric vehicles in the next five years, including a Mustang Hybrid.

The news is a major U-turn for Ford. Last year, the company announced it would invest $1.6 billion in Mexico to transfer the production of the Ford Focus from Michigan to Mexico to save costs. Now the Focus will be built at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, and Ford will expand its plant in Flat Rock.

"Our announcements today are really a vote of confidence in the [U.S.] economy," said Fields.

Trump repeatedly slammed Ford on the campaign trail, claiming the company was moving good manufacturing jobs to Mexico. He vowed to slap a 35% tariff on Ford vehicles made in Mexico and sold in the U.S.

Ford fought back against Trump's rhetoric, saying he had his facts wrong and that the company never planned to cut any U.S. jobs.

Ford currently employs 85,000 Americans, up 28,000, or nearly 50%, in just the last five years. In Mexico, Ford employs 8,800.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I think Trump did have an effect on Ford's decision.
The guy in CNBC's video 1:10 said Ford has said from the beginning of Trump's run that they were planning on building that $1.6M plant in Mexico.
Whether Trump did or did not,it's a great non move for US.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/03/ford-...n-instead.html

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

that's yuuuuuge.

mmarshall

LMAO. Anybody who believes that probably belongs in the Flat Earth Society. You can bet the rent money that Trump was in on this.....just like what happened at Carrier, though Mike Pence, as Indiana Governor, was in on that one, too.

Now you see why Trump was elected President. When he said that he was going to stop American jobs (and particularly automotive jobs) from being shipped overseas, that's exactly what he meant. He's not one to double-talk....he's delivering on his promises, even without being sworn-in yet with the full power of the office. He's already prevented a big move of Carrier air-conditioning jobs.

IMO, this kind of action is long overdue. The excessive globalization of the auto industry has gotten completely out of hand. True, GM's German Opel branch produced the Buick Verano I like so much, but at least the Verano was built in Michigan, with American labor.

bagwell

Agree 100% with you.

RNM GS3

Great to see reinvestment back to the US.
Definitely thanks to Trump.

Aron9000

This is huge and much needed, that there is some real political will to keep good paying jobs in this country. It will be interesting to see how Trump renegotiates our trade deals, as I believe he needs either congressional approval to do so, or he can do what Obama did and execute change through executive orders.

Fizzboy7

This is a great step in the right direction. However, at least within the last thirty years, every president and politician has talked out of both sides of his mouth. To an extent, I expect the same to happen with Trump. There's only so much one can do thanks to having system constraints. But out of everyone and everything to come along in recent history, it appears we have the best chance for some real change that actually HELPS our economy, our job growth, and prosperity for choking American families.

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

Hopefully others will follow. Now the question is, would this increase the price of each car?

TsunamiF

I'm curious about this as well. For example, with Toyota, the company currently has a production plant in Mexico for building Tacoma trucks and a new billion dollar plant is currently being built to produce the 2020 Corolla. Is this new policy going to severely diminish Toyota's plan to make the 2020 Corolla more competitive on price?

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/16/t...lant-official/

Toys4RJill

I think Toyota will pull back on their plans. At least for the US/Canada models.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

We'll see. Trump seems pretty focused on US automakers only

mmarshall

That's because American-brand automakers owe the most to American workers and the economy. Yes, it's nice if Korean, Japanese, or European automakers set up plants here in the U.S. and build their products here, but they have no real obligation to do so...except what they put into their American-spec products to meet U.S. safety/CAFE/emissions regulations, they don't answer to s as much as they do their own governments in their home countries. (and, of course, in some cases, those plants here in the U.S. which make foreign-branded vehicle take at least some jobs away from those home countries, which would have otherwise stayed there). But Ford and GM, as American brands (and to a lesser extenrt, Chrysler, which is partly Italian-owned) ultimately answers to our government, not those overseas.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

watching mark fields, the slick ford ceo, extol the virtues of his change of plans in his press conference yesterday made me want to vomit. this from the same guy who throughout 2016 said they were basically absolutely committed to building the plant in mexico regardless of what trump said.

mmarshall

Yeah, I agree.........I wasn't impressed with his speech, either. But consider that, until November, Trump was simply a candidate, and had no real power. Now, of course, as President-Elect, and soon to be President, it's clearly a different scenario.

As far as Fields and his speeches go, however, I don't think he was (or is) any slicker than Lee Iacocca, who, during the 1980s at Chrysler, clearly wrote the book on how to talk out of both sides of one's mouth.