Important Ford Investments in Michigan
Ford announced advanced powertrain-related investments of $135 million in two southeast Michigan component plants. The Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti Township will assemble battery packs which used to be assembled in Mexico, and the Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights will produce hybrid transmissions that previously were produced in and imported from Japan. CAR has long predicted that as demand for new technology increases, companies will begin to manufacture advance powertrain comonents in this country. Ford's investment is acknowledgment of this occuring.
Below is text from an article in The Detroit News dated May 25, 2010. A link to the article is located here.
Below is text from an article in The Detroit News dated May 25, 2010. A link to the article is located here.
Ford invests $135 million in 2 Michigan plants
Facilities in Sterling Heights, Ypsilanti Twp. to produce hybrid, electric parts
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Ypsilanti Township -- Ford Motor Co. said Monday it will invest $135 million in two Michigan parts plants as part of a broader effort to bring production of key electric vehicle technology in-house.
The move is good news for employees at both factories, where work has declined dramatically over the past decade, and it brings the Dearborn automaker one step closer to hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign again in southeastern Michigan.
Beginning in 2012, Ford's Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti Township will take over assembly of battery packs from a supplier in Mexico, and the company's Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights will begin producing hybrid transmissions that Ford now imports from Japan.
"We're not only bringing work back here to the good old United States, but we're bringing it in-house from an outside supplier," Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields told an enthusiastic crowd at the Rawsonville Plant.
"We're going to move these components to Ford's own facilities that employ our wonderful UAW workers."
Combined, about 170 new jobs will be created at the two factories. When Ford begins filling those positions in 2012, the new hires "likely" will be lower-wage, entry-level employees, Fields said. Under the terms of a key provision of the automaker's 2007 contract with the United Auto Workers, Ford can pay new hires $14 an hour -- about half what veteran workers earn.
Last week, Chrysler Group LLC said it would begin hiring so-called "second-tier" workers in July under a similar provision. General Motors Corp. also expects to soon begin hiring new, lower-wage hourly workers.
Before Ford can begin hiring new workers, it must find a home for some 450 employees who have been idled because of the steep decline in U.S. auto sales tied to the recession. Fields said most of them should find work at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, which is adding a second shift later this year to produce the new Ford Explorer.
Bob King, head of the UAW's national Ford section and union leaders' nominee to replace Ron Gettelfinger as UAW president next month, said these concessions are an example of the painful sacrifices his members have accepted to make Detroit's automakers competitive again.
"You need a partnership with management," King said. "If you're going to build high-quality products, if you're going to get the best products at the best price to the consumers, you need a management that will work together with you."
King said Ford's recent quality gains are proof of how well the company is working with UAW members to improve its cars and trucks.
Monday's announcement was made possible in part by loans to Ford from the U.S. Department of Energy and generous tax credits from Ypsilanti Township and the state of Michigan. The Energy Department funds are earmarked for modernizing factories to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm praised Ford for bringing jobs back to Michigan. "We are sending a message to the world," she said. "You can be competitive manufacturing in the United States and in Michigan."
But for workers at the Rawsonville Plant, where powertrain components are made, the news had more personal significance.
"It means we stay open," said worker Bernita White. "It means we keep our jobs and we can take care of our families."
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Facilities in Sterling Heights, Ypsilanti Twp. to produce hybrid, electric parts
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Ypsilanti Township -- Ford Motor Co. said Monday it will invest $135 million in two Michigan parts plants as part of a broader effort to bring production of key electric vehicle technology in-house.
The move is good news for employees at both factories, where work has declined dramatically over the past decade, and it brings the Dearborn automaker one step closer to hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign again in southeastern Michigan.
Beginning in 2012, Ford's Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti Township will take over assembly of battery packs from a supplier in Mexico, and the company's Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights will begin producing hybrid transmissions that Ford now imports from Japan.
"We're not only bringing work back here to the good old United States, but we're bringing it in-house from an outside supplier," Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields told an enthusiastic crowd at the Rawsonville Plant.
"We're going to move these components to Ford's own facilities that employ our wonderful UAW workers."
Combined, about 170 new jobs will be created at the two factories. When Ford begins filling those positions in 2012, the new hires "likely" will be lower-wage, entry-level employees, Fields said. Under the terms of a key provision of the automaker's 2007 contract with the United Auto Workers, Ford can pay new hires $14 an hour -- about half what veteran workers earn.
Last week, Chrysler Group LLC said it would begin hiring so-called "second-tier" workers in July under a similar provision. General Motors Corp. also expects to soon begin hiring new, lower-wage hourly workers.
Before Ford can begin hiring new workers, it must find a home for some 450 employees who have been idled because of the steep decline in U.S. auto sales tied to the recession. Fields said most of them should find work at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, which is adding a second shift later this year to produce the new Ford Explorer.
Bob King, head of the UAW's national Ford section and union leaders' nominee to replace Ron Gettelfinger as UAW president next month, said these concessions are an example of the painful sacrifices his members have accepted to make Detroit's automakers competitive again.
"You need a partnership with management," King said. "If you're going to build high-quality products, if you're going to get the best products at the best price to the consumers, you need a management that will work together with you."
King said Ford's recent quality gains are proof of how well the company is working with UAW members to improve its cars and trucks.
Monday's announcement was made possible in part by loans to Ford from the U.S. Department of Energy and generous tax credits from Ypsilanti Township and the state of Michigan. The Energy Department funds are earmarked for modernizing factories to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm praised Ford for bringing jobs back to Michigan. "We are sending a message to the world," she said. "You can be competitive manufacturing in the United States and in Michigan."
But for workers at the Rawsonville Plant, where powertrain components are made, the news had more personal significance.
"It means we stay open," said worker Bernita White. "It means we keep our jobs and we can take care of our families."
>Back to News
