Ford has done a deal with the state of Ohio to guarantee 2,000 jobs at an assembly plant for the next five years, the Detroit News said.

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The agreement completes an announcement made in May that the company will retool a portion of the plant to build a sport utility vehicle and rehire 850 workers laid off when Ford ended production of the Mercury Villager/Nissan Quest minivan in June, the newspaper said.


Ford on Friday promised to build the Escape (Maverick in some export markets) SUV and continue building the Econoline van at the Avon Lake plant for five more years and also promised to retain the 1,200 workers building the van, the Detroit News said.


The newspaper said that Ohio in May was offering Ford tax credits and other incentives worth about $80 million to guarantee the jobs of the minivan and Econoline workers but state officials balked when Ford said it could not guarantee the Econoline jobs would stay at Avon Lake.


The Detroit News said the final agreement includes $36 million in state tax incentives and grants with Ford, in exchange, agreeing to invest at least $75 million to retool the plant to build the Escape from next summer and promising that the Escape workers will be employed for at least seven years.

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Ford spokeswoman Della DiPietro told the Detroit News that Ford never intended to eliminate the 1,200 Econoline jobs, but it also cannot guarantee those jobs for more than five years.


A state spokesman said that Ohio would also try to persuade Ford to build the planned hybrid Escape at Avon Lake, the newspaper added.