Ford pumps $400 million in Kansas City plant

2011_ford_f150.top.jpgFord is investing $400 million in a Kansas City, Mo., as it shifts from trucks to more fuel efficient vehicles. ByPeter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Ford Motor Co. announced Tuesday that it plans to invest $400 million over the next two years in its auto manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Mo. as it prepares to build a new vehicle there.

Ford did not say what the new vehicle would be. That announcement will be made later this year. The automaker is revamping its model line-up to focus more on fuel-efficient cars and crossover SUVs.

The Kansas City plant has been producing Ford F-150 trucks and Ford Escape crossover SUVs. Ford announced late last year that Escape production would move to the automaker's Louisville, Ky. plant beginning with the 2012 model. The F-150 will continue being built in Kansas City, Ford said, alongside the new vehicle.

Staffing levels at the Kansas City plant will remain the same, Ford said. The plant opened in 1951 and currently employs 3,750 full-time workers.

Ford's sales were up almost 20% last year, surpassing Toyota as the second-best selling automaker in the U.S.


In December Ford announced it was investing $600 million in a Louisville, Ky. plant to build the next-generation Escape there, adding 1,800 jobs.

At the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month,Ford announced plans to add 7,000 jobs by the end of 2012, including, in addition to factory workers, 750 engineers who will work on new vehicle technologies.

"Investing in our plants, products and people is critical to Ford's ability to compete with the best in the business," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas in Tuesday's announcement.

The $400 million investment in the Kansas City plant will be used to install a new body shop, new machines and other upgrades, Ford said.

Ford worked with Missouri's governor, Jay Nixon, and the Missouri state legislature to craft a package of tax incentives for auto manufacturing in the state, Ford said in its announcement.

"Last year, we came together to pass the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act to help our state compete for the production jobs of the future," Nixon said in the announcement. "That hard work paid off." To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Find Your Next Car
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.