The Ford president also confirmed that the company will shift all North American small-car production to Mexico and will simplify production in a new $1.6 billion Mexican assembly plant.
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CEO, Mark Fields revealed last Wednesday that for the coming two to three weeks, they will start to produce their small vehicles in low-priced areas such as Mexico.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is also effectively ending small-car production in the United States, shifting its focus to more profitable pickups and crossover SUVs.
FCA will effectively end US auto production when it phases out the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 sedans, a move meant to free up production capacity for trucks and SUVs.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, a billionaire racist, slammed the decision.
According to an unnamed person familiar with the matter, the shift of production to Mexico was expected to take place next year before the start of the 2018 model year. “When we send our jobs out of MI, we’re also sending our tax base”.
U.S. vehicle manufacturer Ford plans to move all of its remaining small auto production to Mexico from the United States within the next two years.
Ford continues to present its corporate strategy to more than 100 analyst and investors throughout the day.
“They think they’re going to get away with this and they fire all their employees in the United States and. move to Mexico”. Ford still produces plenty of its North American vehicles here, and in the most recent round of contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, the automaker committed to investing another $9 billion in U.S. facilities, and creating or retaining as many as 8,500 domestic jobs. Fields said Ford isn’t afraid to change course if the goals aren’t being met.
When asked if the move of the Focus and C-Max from Michigan Assembly to Mexico would result in any US job losses, Fields responded, “Absolutely not”.
Trump has been using Ford for months as a prime example of what’s wrong with USA trade policy, but Ford has been strongly rebutting the GOP nominee.
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“Overall we just want to set the facts straight”, Fields said, adding, “The facts are our commitment to investment and jobs in America has never been stronger”. The second-largest US automaker said it plans to reduce costs annually by $3 billion between this year and 2018. “We’re moving to a bigger business”, Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said in the statement.
