Ford will build a new low cost plant but not necessarily in the US.
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The criterion for the location of the new plant is cost not geography, Mark Fields, president of Ford’s Americas group, told The Detroit News.
According to David Cole, chairman of the Centre for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Ford would need a labour contract like that of the new Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance World Engine Plant, which opened last year in Dundee.
Whereas most factories organised by the UAW union divide jobs into dozens of classifications, which workers are not allowed to deviate from, the Dundee engine plant has just two classifications, allowing for a high degree of flexibility.
There are precedents for more flexible UAW labour agreements in vehicle manufacturing too. GM’s Grand River Assembly Plant in Lansing has fewer job classifications and workers are organised into teams. Chrysler’s Belvidere plant also has a high degree of flexibility.
By building an all-new plant, Ford would also benefit from investment incentives such as those received by Toyota and Hyundai when they have built all-new plants.
