Ford scraps Mexico factory and adds Michigan jobs
The US auto giant reverses its $1.6bn plans following criticism by Donald Trump
Flat Rock — Ford Motor on Tuesday scrapped a planned Mexican car factory and added 700 jobs in Michigan following criticism by Donald Trump, as the US president-elect turned his attention toward rival General Motors Co with the threat of a "big border tax" over compact cars made in Mexico. Ford CEO Mark Fields called the move "a vote of confidence" in Trump, but primarily a response to a decline in the North American demand for small cars like those that would have been made at the Mexican plant. He said the company would have made the same decision even if Trump had not been elected. Ford will cancel plans unveiled in April to spend $1.6bn to build the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, a project that Trump urged the company to abandon and described as an "absolute disgrace" during the election campaign. The No 2 US car maker also said it would invest $700m in the Flat Rock, Michigan factory plant and would make new electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles there. Trump’s efforts...
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