Ford Motor Co. is adding 3,000 jobs at two factories in the Detroit area and investing $1.45 billion to build new pickup trucks, SUVs, and electric and autonomous vehicles.
The company said Tuesday that about $750 million will go the Michigan Assembly Plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, where 2,700 jobs will be added during the next three years. Another $700 million will be invested in the truck plant in Dearborn, where 300 new jobs will be added.
Hiring will begin next year.
FILE- In this Sept. 27, 2018, file photo a United Auto Workers assemblyman installs the front doors on a 2018 Ford F-150 truck being assembled at the Ford Rouge assembly plant in Dearborn, Mich. Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, that it is adding 3,000 jobs at two factories in the Detroit area and investing $1.45 billion to build new pickup trucks, SUVs, and electric and autonomous vehicles. At the Dearborn truck plant $700 million will be invested. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)The large investment comes as the U.S. new vehicle sales cycle has peaked and appears to be leveling off around 17 million vehicles per year. But Ford needs to make the investment in new products in an effort to increase its market share and prepare for a shift to new propulsion and autonomous vehicle technologies.
The Wayne plant investment will be used to build the new Ford Bronco SUV, as well as an all-new Ranger small pickup truck. Investment at the plant also result in a new center to modify and support autonomous and other vehicles.