Ford Cancels Mexico Plant After Trump Criticism, Will Invest $700M in MI

He also stressed that Ford made no deals with the President-elect to make the transition any easier.

Speaking to CNN, Fields says that he believes a Trump presidency will create a more favorable environment for manufacturing in America. “We did it for our business”, Fields said.

This would make way for “two new iconic products” at another plant in Wayne, Michigan, safeguarding 3,500 jobs, Ford said. The factory will build high-tech autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles as well as Mustangs and Lincoln Continentals.

The Flat Rock plant now builds the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental, but it will soon also operate as something of a hub for hybrid, electric, and autonomous cars.

Earlier Tuesday morning, Trump took aim at another auto giant: General Motors.

Shares in other targets of Mr Trumps ire, like defence contractor Lockheed Martin, did not recover so quickly and the President-elect will know his comments can cause ructions in boardrooms.

The union representing vehicle workers was happy.

“This expanded facility means more well-paying jobs for Michigan residents and underscores the strength of the talent in the state’s automotive sector”, said Steve Arwood, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which administers incentives and programs on behalf of the Michigan Strategic Fund. It will offer a plug-in hybrid-powered Ford Transit Connect in Europe beginning in 2019 and test a fleet of 20 hybrid Connect taxis in major US cities, and is testing wireless recharging technology in the USA and Europe.

Since Donald Trump’s campaign for US president began, the real estate mogul has been intensely critical of Ford and its plans to shift all small vehicle to production to Mexico after 2018.

High-level sources in Ford told NBC News that Trump had nothing to do with the company’s decision to expand US production and hire more employees. “And it’s literally a vote of confidence around some of the pro-growth policies that he has been outlining and that’s why we’re making this decision to invest here in the USA and in our plant MI”, he said.

Production of American-brand cars built in Mexico has been an issue President-elect Trump has championed as part of his plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Trump has threatened to tax companies that move production to Mexico and ship products back to the USA under the North American Free Trade Agreement. “And you know what’s gonna happen, they’re never going to leave”.

Later in the month, wireless provider Sprint and Internet company OneWeb announced they would be adding thousands of jobs in the U.S. Both companies are controlled by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who had previously met with Trump.

Ford now employs 85,000 Americans, up 28,000, or almost 50%, from five years ago.

Even though he’s not even president yet, Trump has already succeeded on both cases, Carrier and Ford.

Ford’s plan to add more jobs in MI has strong union support.