Ford has selected Mexico as the location where it will make a new line of fuel-efficient engines and transmissions, according to Business Wire.
The Detroit-based automaker said Friday it will spend $2.5 billion on two new facilities that will bring 3,800 new jobs to Mexico. Ford's announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report and is the latest in a series of investments in Mexico.
The new engine line will be built within Ford's engine plant located in the state of Chihuahua to make gasoline engines that will be shipped to places like the Asia-Pacific region and Northern America.
Production of Ford's diesel and I-4 engines will also be expanded at the Chihuahua plant to make it the largest engine factory in all of Mexico, according to according to The Wall-Street Journal.
In partnership with German transmission maker Getrag, Ford will build a new transmission plant in the state of Guanajuato that will have the capacity to produce 800,000 units annually.
"Today's announcement is an important milestone in Ford's 90-year history in Mexico," said Gabriel Lopez, Ford of Mexico's president and CEO, according to Business Wire. "Currently within Ford, Mexico is the fourth vehicle producer, the fourth largest engine producer and is the second largest nation supplying Ford's global manufacturing facilities."
Ford's decision is anything but music to the ears of the United Auto Workers union. UAW is currently trying to sustain jobs at U.S. production plants while finding a way to raise employee salaries.
UAW President Dennis Williams called Ford's announcement "disappointing, but not any more disappointing than GM's decision to invest $5 billion in Mexico," referring to recent decisions made by six of the top automakers in the U.S., according to Reuters.
We confirmed Thursday that Toyota would start ramping up plant production again in China and Mexico to support production of its Corolla compact and other popular models.
Ford currently makes the Ford Fusion, Fiesta and Lincoln MKZ in Mexico and employees 11,300 workers.
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