However, Ford spokeswoman Christin Tinsworth Baker said the shift in small vehicle production will not affect U.S.jobs, noting that two new products are coming to its MI plant.
Advertisement
Today, Fields reiterated the automaker’s commitment to the UAW to keep that plant running.
Each announcement has generated a fresh round of back-and-forth between Ford and Trump.
Ford Motor Company is by no means the only automaker moving production of small cars to Mexico. He told investors of the move to shift the production of the Ford Focus to Mexico on Tuesday.
Trump’s comments came the day after the Dearborn automaker confirmed that all remaining small-car production will move to Mexico in the next two to three years.
“They think they’re going to get away with this and they fire all their employees in the United States and.move to Mexico”, said Trump. “When that auto comes back across the border into our country that now comes in free, we’re going to charge them a 35 percent tax”.
“They’re never going to leave”.
“We will be replacing those products with two very exciting new products so not one job will be lost”, Fields said. The new Ford plant is expected to cost $1.6 billion to build.
Ford has 85,000 USA workers, up 50% over the last five years.
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. The Ford Fiesta, as its name suggests, is already being produced in Mexico, while the performance-based Focus RS is being made in Germany.
“It’s unfortunate that politics are getting in the way of the facts”, Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker told The Hill.
“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”. And in some ways, I think it could be an opportunity, in that it will be making available numerous manufacturing capabilities in the US and in MI – for Ford and other manufacturers – to focus on the bigger vehicles, which are really the higher profit vehicles.
Advertisement
“Whoever is in the White House, we work for them productively”, he said.
