Ford Investing $600 Million, Hiring 1,800

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Ford Investing $600 Million, Hiring 1,800 at SUV Plant

Dec 9, 2010

Ford Motor Co., the world’s most profitable automaker, is hiring 1,800 workers and spending $600 million to overhaul a factory in Louisville, Kentucky, to build small sport-utility vehicles.

The factory, which now produces the midsize Ford Explorer SUV, will begin building a redesigned version of the Escape compact utility vehicle late next year, Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman, said in an interview. At that time, the plant will begin operating two shifts and employing 2,900 workers, up from one shift and 1,100 workers currently, she said.

Ford is transforming the Louisville plant into its most flexible factory, capable of producing small cars, SUVs and wagons. Such flexibility is typical of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. plants. Ford also plans to build a small Lincoln SUV in Louisville starting in 2012, according to two people familiar with the plan.

“Ford is putting itself in a position to answer the call of the consumer and build whatever they want,” said Michael Robinet, an analyst with IHS Automotive in Northville, Michigan. “For several years, the method they used was to overbuild and then tape money to the hood” by offering discounts on cars.

The Louisville factory will be able to make Ford’s new Focus compact car, should consumer demand outstrip the factory in Wayne, Michigan, where that model is built, Robinet said. Louisville also could build the Grand C-Max wagon Ford is bringing to the U.S. from Europe, he said.

Continued Here: Ford Investing $600 Million, Hiring 1,800 at SUV Plant - Bloomberg

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How Ford turned a crash into a profit—without a government bail-out

Dec 9th 2010

SOON after Alan Mulally arrived as Ford’s chief executive in September 2006 he organised a weekly meeting of his senior managers and asked them how things were going. Fine, fine, fine, came the answers from around the table. “We are forecasting a $17 billion loss and no one has any problems!” an incredulous Mr Mulally exclaimed. When he asked the same question the next week, Mark Fields, head of Ford’s operations in the Americas, raised his hand and—in what once would have been a moment of career suicide—admitted that a defective part threatened to delay the launch of an important new car. The room fell silent, until Mr Mulally began to clap his hands. “Great visibility,” the new boss added.

Continued Here: Ford: Epiphany in Dearborn | The Economist

Four years on, Ford is making record profits.