Ford announced on Tuesday that it will be investing $75 million in its Michigan Truck Plant. The move is just the first in a series of investments that will see Ford convert three of its truck plants to produce smaller, more economical vehicles. The Michigan Truck Plant currently produced the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator .
The conversion of the Michigan Truck Plant is expected to begin in November, when Ford will move Expedition and Navigator production to its Louisville, Kentucky plant. The $75 million will go towards the retooling of the plant’s body shop in preparation of producing a new range of European compact cars in 2010.
In the interim, 1,000 of the plants workers will be transferred to Ford ’s nearby Wayne Assembly Plant, which produces the popular Ford Focus.
“This is the best plan to meet consumer demand and utilize our assets at Michigan Truck and other facilities, both in the near term and long term,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford group vice president of global manufacturing and labor affairs, told The Detroit News.
