Ford says MKC will stay in Kentucky

But now the automaker plans to build the next generation of the MKC in Louisville, Kelli Felker, Ford’s global manufacturing and labor communications manager told Automotive News late Thursday.

Here’s what actually happened: Ford has two plants in Kentucky that produce Lincoln vehicles.

The tweets caused some confusion, particularly locally, prompting some Ford workers to reach out to WAVE 3 News for clarification.

Having already erroneously claimed that a Michigan Ford plant was on the verge of moving to Mexico, the President-elect is now claiming that he saved Ford jobs in Kentucky. But since the same plant also manufactures the popular Ford Escape, the company wasn’t planning on closing the plant – or even losing any jobs. It was not immediately clear when Ford made the decision.

President-elect Donald Trump took credit Thursday night for convincing the chairman of Ford Motor Company to keep a manufacturing plant in Louisville, Kentucky, from relocating to Mexico – but the automaker says it never planned to relocate the entire plant.

The decision to keep Lincoln MKC production in Kentucky comes after F’s William Ford spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday.

Still, Trump claimed credit for saving a factory from moving to Mexico. Yet the Louisville plant was going to remain open, and union leaders said they didn’t expect any job losses in Kentucky from the shift.

Still, the MKC is staying in Louisville; it’s unclear if that will impact production of the Escape there. It said the move would create 2,000 new jobs. If punitive tariffs were enacted, as Trump has proposed, on vehicles entering the USA from Ford’s Mexican plants, then Ford would have to consider discontinuing small-car production amid current market conditions. Second, the President-elect presented “facts” that were not only misleading, but out-and-out wrong-the Lincoln plant was never leaving Kentucky.

In response, Bill Ford called Trump’s plan “infuriating” and “frustrating”.

Ford said over Twitter Friday that Trump’s economic policy will help boost US, and “keep MKC here”.

Trump has been feuding with Ford over plans to move small-car production from suburban Detroit to Mexico. Mr. Trump has proposed a 35% tariff on autos and other products imported from low-priced countries such as Mexico.

But the company defended its record, saying it employs more American auto workers and produces more American-made vehicles than any other company, and has invested US$12 billion USA plants in the past five years and created almost 28,000 United States jobs.

Ford nodded to those wider issues in a statement on Friday, saying it was encouraged that Trump’s economic policies “will help improve us competitiveness”.