800 Ford Jobs At Stake In $350M Investment In Livonia Plant

DEARBORN, MI — Ford Motor Company is continuing to invest in its Livonia Transmission Plant. The automaker announced Friday that it will invest $350 million to build a new transmission at the Plymouth Road facility, which will also mean the addition or retention of 800 hourly workers.

Last year, Ford committed to a $1.4 billion in spending at the facility, creating or retaining 500 hourly jobs. That investment was for a new 10-speed transmission for the 2017 F-150 Raptor and other F-150s, the Detroit News reported.

As for Friday’s announcement, the company will add jobs later this year as work begins on the new transmissions. Additional jobs will follow in 2018-19. The new transmission is expected to offer better fuel economy and performance in future Ford front-wheel drive vehicles, the newspaper reported.

“We remain committed to American manufacturing and investing in our people and facilities,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas, said in a statement. “Even as the industry’s largest employer of hourly workers in the United States and biggest producer of American-made vehicles, we believe it is important to continue investing right here in our home market.”

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This new investment is part of work agreed to by Ford of its 2015 contract agreement with the UAW, which runs through September 2019. UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said Ford’s announcement shows that collective bargaining works.

“The addition of these 800 jobs will add job security for the plant’s hardworking men and women, and support for the surrounding community,” Settles said in a statement.

Ford has announced more than $2.25 billion in new investments in Michigan over the past four months, the Detroit News reported. The company has invested $12 billion in U.S. plants, creating nearly 28,000 U.S. jobs over the past five years.

U.S. Rep. Dave Trott, a Troy Republican, praised Ford’s move. “Today's announcement by Ford, the addition of a new fuel-efficient transmission in Livonia, further underscores its commitment to raising the bar, modernizing our domestic automotive production in conjunction with the unmatched work product of the hardworking men and women of Michigan - an unequaled duo that will undoubtedly continue Ford and Michigan's unparalleled reputation on the world stage,” Trott said in a statement.

Photo courtesy of the Ford Motor Company