Post by boeslap on Jan 26, 2010 14:18:40 GMT -5
Ford investing $400 mln for new Explorer
* Next version of Explorer slated for Chicago Assembly
* Ford adding 1,200 jobs at assembly, stamping plants
* Investment totals $400 million
* Ford shares up nearly 3 pct in morning trade CHICAGO,
Jan 26 (Reuters) -
Ford Motor Co (F.N) will invest
nearly $400 million to build a new version of the Ford Explorer
SUV in Chicago starting in late 2010, adding 1,200 jobs to area
assembly and stamping plants, the automaker said on Tuesday.
The automaker plans to add a second production shift at its
Chicago assembly plant and increase production at a stamping
plant in nearby Chicago Heights for the Explorer, which
currently is produced at a plant in Kentucky.
The United Auto Workers expects nearly all of the hires to
come from within its current membership based on seniority, UAW
Vice President Bob King told Reuters on Tuesday in a short
interview at the plant.
Production of the new Explorer SUV is expected to begin in
the fourth quarter of 2010. The investment includes about $180
million for manufacturing at the Chicago-area plants and $220
million for launch and engineering costs, Ford said.
Ford already builds the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans
at the Chicago plant, which currently has about 1,200 workers
represented by the UAW on one shift. The plant had about 2,300
workers before it went to a single shift in summer 2008.
The stamping plant currently has 700 employees on two
shifts, Ford said.
The Chicago plant, which opened in 1924, was one of five in
the United States promised a new vehicle program in February
when UAW workers approved a cost-cutting agreement with Ford.
The new Explorer is planned as a unibody construction with
six-speed transmissions and EcoBoost engines that would provide
a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy over the current
models, Ford said.
The Explorer was once a profit driver for Ford during the
SUV boom of a decade ago and remains a key part of its lineup.
Sales peaked at more than 445,000 in 2000 and averaged about
412,000 per year from 1995 through 2003.
In 2009, sales fell 35 percent from the previous year to
52,190. Ford has been building the current version of the Explorer
at its Louisville assembly plant in Kentucky, one of three
truck plants being converted to produce smaller vehicles under
the automaker's broad restructuring plans.
Ford has not announced specific vehicle production plans
for Louisville, but has said they will be based on its global
"C" platform that underpins the automaker's new versions of the
Focus compact car that will be produced in Michigan.
The announcement comes two days before Ford releases its
fourth-quarter and full 2009 earnings results and at a time
when it has been gaining both market share and critical raves
for improvements to its product line.
The only large U.S. automaker not to reorganize under a
government-managed bankruptcy, Ford has said it expects to be
solidly profitable in 2011. However, many analysts believe Ford
will be profitable in 2010 and Ford is expected to update its
outlook on Thursday.
Ford shares were up 30 cents or 2.7 percent at $11.33 on
Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
www.reuters.com/article/idCNN265766720100126?rpc=44
* Next version of Explorer slated for Chicago Assembly
* Ford adding 1,200 jobs at assembly, stamping plants
* Investment totals $400 million
* Ford shares up nearly 3 pct in morning trade CHICAGO,
Jan 26 (Reuters) -
Ford Motor Co (F.N) will invest
nearly $400 million to build a new version of the Ford Explorer
SUV in Chicago starting in late 2010, adding 1,200 jobs to area
assembly and stamping plants, the automaker said on Tuesday.
The automaker plans to add a second production shift at its
Chicago assembly plant and increase production at a stamping
plant in nearby Chicago Heights for the Explorer, which
currently is produced at a plant in Kentucky.
The United Auto Workers expects nearly all of the hires to
come from within its current membership based on seniority, UAW
Vice President Bob King told Reuters on Tuesday in a short
interview at the plant.
Production of the new Explorer SUV is expected to begin in
the fourth quarter of 2010. The investment includes about $180
million for manufacturing at the Chicago-area plants and $220
million for launch and engineering costs, Ford said.
Ford already builds the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans
at the Chicago plant, which currently has about 1,200 workers
represented by the UAW on one shift. The plant had about 2,300
workers before it went to a single shift in summer 2008.
The stamping plant currently has 700 employees on two
shifts, Ford said.
The Chicago plant, which opened in 1924, was one of five in
the United States promised a new vehicle program in February
when UAW workers approved a cost-cutting agreement with Ford.
The new Explorer is planned as a unibody construction with
six-speed transmissions and EcoBoost engines that would provide
a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy over the current
models, Ford said.
The Explorer was once a profit driver for Ford during the
SUV boom of a decade ago and remains a key part of its lineup.
Sales peaked at more than 445,000 in 2000 and averaged about
412,000 per year from 1995 through 2003.
In 2009, sales fell 35 percent from the previous year to
52,190. Ford has been building the current version of the Explorer
at its Louisville assembly plant in Kentucky, one of three
truck plants being converted to produce smaller vehicles under
the automaker's broad restructuring plans.
Ford has not announced specific vehicle production plans
for Louisville, but has said they will be based on its global
"C" platform that underpins the automaker's new versions of the
Focus compact car that will be produced in Michigan.
The announcement comes two days before Ford releases its
fourth-quarter and full 2009 earnings results and at a time
when it has been gaining both market share and critical raves
for improvements to its product line.
The only large U.S. automaker not to reorganize under a
government-managed bankruptcy, Ford has said it expects to be
solidly profitable in 2011. However, many analysts believe Ford
will be profitable in 2010 and Ford is expected to update its
outlook on Thursday.
Ford shares were up 30 cents or 2.7 percent at $11.33 on
Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
www.reuters.com/article/idCNN265766720100126?rpc=44