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Ford Announces More Jobs and Another New Mercury Vehicle For Chicago Operations
/FROM PR NEWSWIRE DETROIT 248-352-5200/
TO BUSINESS AND AUTO EDITORS:
Ford Announces More Jobs and Another New Mercury Vehicle
For Chicago Operations
* Approximately 400 to 600 more jobs will be created at Ford's Chicago
Assembly Plant and its nearby supplier campus. This is in addition to the
1,000 jobs previously announced for the supplier campus.
* Chicago Assembly is Ford's first car plant in North America to utilize
the Company's new flexible manufacturing system. The system will enable the
plant to produce up to eight different models off two architectures.
* Chicago Assembly will produce the 2005 Ford Five Hundred, Ford
Freestyle and Mercury Montego and a future Mercury crossover.
CHICAGO, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company Chairman and
CEO Bill Ford today announced that 400 to 600 more jobs will be created at the
Chicago Assembly Plant and nearby Chicago Manufacturing Campus. In addition,
a fourth new vehicle, a future Mercury crossover, was announced.
About 300 new jobs will be added at the plant, while an additional 100 to
300 jobs will be created at the supplier campus. When Ford announced the
creation of the supplier campus in May 2002, it projected the creation of
1,000 new jobs there. That number may now grow to as many as 1,300 new jobs.
Today's announcement also will bring the plant's employment to 2,700.
"We are investing for the future here in Chicago and at all of our
manufacturing facilities in North America," said Bill Ford, Chairman and CEO,
Ford Motor Company. "My great-grandfather Henry Ford pioneered mass
production; the flexible manufacturing systems we are installing take it into
the 21st century.
"We're adding new jobs and this leading edge manufacturing technology to
our Chicago Assembly Plant to build four exciting new products here. It's a
winning combination for our customers and the Chicago community."
"On behalf of the people of Chicago, I want to thank Bill Ford and his
management team for this vote of confidence in our city and in our outstanding
workforce," said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. "This will solidify
Chicago's position as the nation's number-one manufacturing center, in terms
of employment and gross regional product."
Under the UAW contract, Ford employees transferring from other facilities
will be given preference for jobs at the assembly plant.
"This fourth new vehicle we're bringing to Chicago Assembly Plant will
build on the design direction established by the Mountaineer and Monterey and
the upcoming Montego and Mariner," added Jim Padilla, Ford Motor Company
executive vice president and president, North and South American Operations.
"This continues the momentum for Lincoln and Mercury." Lincoln-Mercury will
introduce 11 new products in six new segments within four years.
Upgrades and new installations within Chicago Assembly Plant will make it
one of Ford's new flexible manufacturing facilities. Assembly plants in
Norfolk, Va., and Kansas City, Mo., were Ford's first to become flexible. The
Company has committed to making 75 percent of its North American manufacturing
plants flexible by the end of the decade. At Chicago, the flexible system
will allow the plant to produce up to eight different models off two
architectures. This flexibility enables the plant to better meet changing
customer demands. It also minimizes product changeover time, provides initial
investment and long-term savings, and improves quality through increased
standardization.
The 2005 Ford Five Hundred, Ford Freestyle and Mercury Montego will be the
first vehicles produced at Chicago using the new flexible system. A fourth
product, a Mercury crossover vehicle, also will be produced at the plant.
The innovative Chicago Manufacturing Campus, scheduled to officially open
later this year in conjunction with Chicago Assembly's new product lines, will
be home to approximately nine Tier One and Tier Two production suppliers, plus
logistics and tooling suppliers. The campus, which was developed in strong
partnership with the state of Illinois and city of Chicago, will allow Ford to
improve responsiveness, lower inventory costs, and control shipping costs and
capital expenditures. The 155-acre campus is located about one-half mile east
of the plant.
Residents of the supplier campus will include: Lear Corp., headliners;
Tower Automotive, stampings; ZF Lemforder, suspension; Visteon, instrument
panels, bolsters, HVAC components and fuel tanks; SY Systems Technologies,
wiring; Summit Polymers Inc., console (injected plastics); Plastech, injected
and blow molded plastics; Brose, door components; TDS Automotive, sequencing
and automotive assembly; and the Ford Parts Depot, which moved from its former
location in Melrose Park.
Ford Motor Company, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., is one of the
world's largest automakers, with approximately 318,000 employees in 200
markets on six continents. Its automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford,
Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related
services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz. Ford Motor Company
observed its 100th anniversary on June 16, 2003.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Go to media.ford.com for news releases and high-
resolution photographs./
/CONTACT: Scott Jensen, +1-630-725-4604, sjensen1@ford.com , Susan
Bairley, +1-313-323-1984, sbairley@ford.com , or Ed Lewis,
+1-313-323-7809,Elewis5@ford.com , all of Ford Motor Company/
/Web site: ford.com /
Feb-04-2004 19:45 GMT
Symbols:
DE;FMC DE;FMCF DE;FMCX FR;FO NL;F US;F
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