Ford has announced the hiring of 300 new employees and a US$129m investment in Louisville Assembly Plant to support production of the all-new 2015 Lincoln MKC.
Production of Lincoln’s newest vehicle began in May. MKC is the second of four all-new Lincoln vehicles being introduced by 2016, and will go on sale in China, along with the MKZ sedan, when the Lincoln brand debuts there later in 2015.
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“Lincoln MKC is an important part of Lincoln as it attracts a new luxury customer,” said Daryl Sykes, plant manager, Louisville Assembly Plant. “To have the opportunity to build an all-new vehicle – the first small utility ever from Lincoln – is very exciting for the hardworking men and women at Louisville Assembly Plant.”
In 2010, Ford invested $600m in Louisville Assembly Plant to transform it into a “modern, flexible facility with tooling and facility upgrades in its final assembly area and body shop”. Ford says that this transformation allows for the production of multiple vehicle models at the same time, without requiring downtime for tooling changeover – making Louisville Assembly Plant one of the company’s most flexible plants in the world.
Because Louisville can build various vehicles at the same time, Ford can more quickly meet demand should changing economic conditions or other events result in shifting customer preferences.
“The UAW and Ford remain steadfast in our commitment to Louisville with the addition of Lincoln MKC to Louisville Assembly Plant’s production line,” said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president, National Ford Department. “The 300 new jobs add to the plant’s 4,600 UAW team members – a fantastic feat enabled through the collective bargaining between the UAW and Ford to support US manufacturing.”
With the addition of the 300 employees, Ford says it is more than 75% of the way toward its goal of creating 12,000 hourly jobs in the US by 2015.
