Dayton Business Journal...
Ford to add 12,000 jobs, invest $16 billion under new contract
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 

Ford Motor Co. plans to add 5,750 more jobs than previously expected and invest $16 billion in its U.S. operations by 2015, according to details released Tuesday of a tentative labor agreement with the United Auto Workers of America. 

Company officials had announced earlier this year a plan to add 6,250 hourly jobs to its U.S. work force by 2015. The agreement would bring that number to 12,000. 

If approved by union members, the deal would cover about 41,000 UAW-represented employees in the United States. During a news conference from Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., company officials said they believe the deal will be ratified by union members within the next couple of weeks. 

“We believe that it’s fair to our employees and recognizes the contributions they have made to the success of Ford Motor Co.,” John Fleming, Ford executive vice president of global manufacturing and labor affairs, said at the news conference. “But we also believe and are very happy with the fact that it will continue to improve our competitiveness directly here in the U.S.” 

Of the $16 billion investment planned, Fleming said about $6.2 billion of that will go directly to manufacturing plants. About $1.4 billion of that already has been announced. 

The health of the U.S. auto industry is vital to many Dayton-area manufacturers. Despite General Motors    closing its Moraine assembly plant in 2008, the area remains a hotbed of activity for the car industry and the manufacturing sector employs more than 100,000 people in the Dayton region. 

There are four Ford dealerships in the immediate area including Beau Townsend, Interstate Ford in Miamisburg, Hidy Ford in Beavercreek and New Carlisle Ford. In the outlying areas, Ford has dealers in Troy, Middletown, Lebanon and Eaton. 

Read it at the Dayton Business Journal