Ford Motor Company Continues To Grow

Ford Motor Company announced today that the company is adding 1,200 new jobs at its Kansas City Assembly Plant and a second shift to support additional production of the Ford Transit van. The announcement credits the automaker’s pledge to the UAW back in 2011 to create 12,000 new hourly U.S. jobs by 2015. Ford Motor Company stated it has created 14,000 hourly jobs over the period.

Ford will add 1,200 jobs at the assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo., through the end of this year and a second shift to support demand of the Transit. The plant also produces the Ford F-150, Ford SuperCab and Ford SuperCrew pickups.  Transit sales in the U.S. began in June, and Ford has sold 2,085 of them so far this year.

Ford added 2,800 jobs at the Kansas City plant in both 2012 and 2013. The automaker invested $1.1 billion to expand the facility back in 2011. This year’s new jobs will bring the plant to a total of more than 6,000 workers, a Ford spokeswoman said.

The commitment to creating 12,000 hourly jobs in the country by 2015 was part of the 2011 UAW-Ford contract negotiations. Ford has added jobs in eight other locations, with the Louisville Assembly gaining 3,600, the most new jobs in one location, the statement said.

“Adding a second shift to Kansas City Assembly not only adds more jobs to this community, it also helps deliver more Transits to more customers throughout North America,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, said in a statement.

“I am very pleased that we are able to add 1,200 new jobs to KCAP which will strengthen this community and continue our efforts to grow good paying middle class manufacturing jobs,” Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president for its Ford department, said in a statement. “This is possible because of the collective bargaining process and the partnership between UAW and Ford.”