Ford to invest $1.45 billion, add 3,000 jobs at two SE Michigan facilities

Ford Motor Company is already undertaking a $740-million redevelopment of Michigan Central Station and an extensive redesign of its Dearborn campus that could cost at least $550 million.

Today, the company announced, it’s going to spend around $1.45 billion upgrading two manufacturing facilities in Southeast Michigan.

Ford says will invest $750 million over the next three years at its Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne to install new equipment and hire 2,700 new employees for production of the latest lines of Broncos and Rangers. The facility will also be outfitted with a modification center to integrate the SUVs and trucks with autonomous vehicle technology. Expected to open in 2021, it will be the first center of its kind for Ford.

At the company’s Dearborn manufacturing site, Ford will invest $700 million and add 300 jobs to produce battery cells and “electrified variants” of its F-150. The next line of its truck, which will be unveiled in 2020, will have both hybrid and electric versions.

“At Ford, we are investing aggressively in building on our strengths today—including trucks and SUVs—while at the same time expanding our leadership into electric and autonomous vehicles,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of Automotive, said in a release.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also announced today that the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a package of tax incentives for the projects through the Good Jobs for Michigan and State Essential Services Assessment programs valued at $35.28 million.

The governor’s office adds that Michigan was chosen for the expansions over competing sites in Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio, as well as locations in Canada, Mexico, and outside of North America.