Ford said on Tuesday afternoon it had reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year labour contract with the United Auto Workers union (UAW) covering about 41,000 employees in the United States.
The agreement – still subject to ratification by UAW members – calls for 12,000 hourly jobs to be added in Ford’s US manufacturing facilities by the end of the contract term in 2015.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The new jobs commitment includes additional in-sourcing from Mexico, China and Japan, and is nearly double the company’s previous commitment to add jobs in the US, Ford said in a statement.
The agreement includes $16bn in US investments – including $6.2bn for plants in the US – all to design, engineer and produce more new and upgraded vehicles and components by 2015.
“We are pleased that, by working together with the UAW, we reached a deal that is fair to our employees and that improves Ford’s competitiveness in the US,” said John Fleming, the automaker’s head of global manufacturing and labour affairs.
The UAW will detail the agreement to local branch chiefs and members in the coming days as part of the ratification process.
Ford said it would “discuss more specifics once the agreement becomes final”.
