Ford to invest $1.2B in 3 Michigan plants

Plans by automaker put in place during earlier UAW contract talks.

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will invest $1.2 billion in three of its Michigan plants. Of that, $850 million is earmarked for its Michigan Assembly plant in the Detroit-area city of Wayne, where the new Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco will be made.

T h e au t o make r ’s d e c i s i o n prompted a t weet from President Donald Trump, who wrote, “Car companies coming back to U.S.” — even though Ford executives said the plant investments were planned long before Trump took office.

The automaker’s investment includes plans to add 130 new jobs at its engine plant in Romeo, where it will spend $150 million to expand capacity so it can make engine components for the Ranger and Bronco. In addition, Ford said it will spend $200 million to build a new advanced data center adjacent to its assembly plant in Flat Rock.

“These Michigan Assembly plant and Romeo engine plant announcements are consistent with what we agreed to and talked about with the UAW in 2015 negotiations,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in reference to recent contract talks with the United Auto Workers union.

U. S . Re p. D e b b i e D i n g e l l , D-Mich., applauded the investments.

“Ford’s roots run deep in Mich- igan’s 12th District, and these investments bolster the company’s dedication to building its highest-tech vehicles here in the U.S. and strengthen its commitment to American workers,” Dingell said in a statement. “Ford’s announcement of a new advanced data center at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant also further positions the company as a leader in the future of mobility, including the development of connected and automated vehicles.”

The Ranger and Bronco will replace the Ford Focus and Ford C-Max at Michigan Assembly after the automaker moves production of the small cars to its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico.

The Ranger pickup, which is currently sold globally, will hit U.S. showrooms and have new styling and powertrain options in 2019. Originally a styling choice inside the F-150 line, the Ranger became a standalone model in the U.S. in 1982 and was sold in the country until 2011.

Ford’s $850 million investment at Michigan Assembly is $150 million more than the automaker promised to invest during its 2015 contract negotiations with the UAW. The automaker’s $150 million investment in Romeo matches its commitments in that four-year contract.

Trump has sought credit for Ford’s moves, most of which were already in motion before he took aim at American companies that manufacture goods in foreign markets for sale in the U.S.

Asked if the UAW, rather than Trump, deserves credit for the investments and jobs, Hinrichs simply said, “I am just laying out the timeline.”