Ford Motor announced Tuesday that it would cancel plans for a $1.6 billion Mexico plant and launch a Michigan expansion in a move that may be viewed as a capitulation to Donald Trump.
Ford CEO Mark Fields said the company would spend $700 million and add 700 jobs to “transform and expand” its Flat Rock, Mich. manufacturing plant to make autonomous and electric vehicles.
“Make no mistake about it — Ford is a global automaker but our home is right here in the United States,” Fields said at a press conference.
The move marks a sharp reversal for Ford, which has defended its production in Mexico even as Trump has assailed the company for expanding there.
“This is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump and some of the policies he may be pursuing,” Fields said.
To be sure, Ford acknowledged that it would still move production of the next-generation Focus sedan to Mexico, as previously announced. But it will be built at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, not at a new facility.