Job Creation

Ford Motor Co. has filed plans with metro regulators outlining its next series of improvements in its continuing effort to upgrade its Kentucky Truck Plant at Chamberlain Lane and Westport Road.

Ford Motor Land Development Corp. of Dearborn, Mich., a Ford Motor affiliate that undertakes corporate development projects, filed the improvement plans last week with the Metro Department of Planning & Design Services.

General Motors Corp. plans to invest $290 million to improve technology and processes at its Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Gov. Matt Bevin announced Friday.

The $290 million includes a $153 million new project aimed at improving vehicle assembly line processes. Two ongoing projects at the Warren County plant – a $44 million, 36-job capacity expansion of the Performance Build Center and a $439 million investment in a new paint shop and other facility upgrades – increased by about $137 million.

General Motors and Ford are building the most American-made cars, trucks and SUVs, according to an annual report from American University.

GM and Ford dominated the 2016 Kogod Made in America Auto Index Opens a New Window., which analyzes how much each vehicle relies on domestic parts. The index, compiled by associate professor Frank DuBois at American University’s Kogod School of Business, also takes into account research and development, profit margins and labor, among other items.

Frank DuBois developed auto index and said, “What I’m trying to do is provide more information to consumers. After a house, a car is the largest purchase decision you’re going to make. If you believe country of origin is a critical part of the decision, this index provides you more information than what you’ll see on a sticker at a dealership.”

Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday it will launch a pilot program to hire adults with autism on June 1.

Ford will create five positions in product development suited to the skills and capabilities of workers with autism for the program, called FordInclusiveWorks, the Dearborn-based automaker said in a news release. The program was developed with Autism Alliance of Michigan — a nonprofit founded by Dave Meador, vice chairman and chief administrative officer at DTE Energy Co. The alliance is funding the training program tied to the jobs.

General Motors will add production of its Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab at the Flint Assembly plant beginning in 2017. The light duty truck is currently produced in Mexico. Flint Assembly also produces the heavy-duty Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.  

Ford unveiled sweeping plans today to redevelop dozens of buildings in Dearborn that house more than 30,000 employees in a project that will transform the automaker's presence in the city into two distinct campuses over the next 10 years.

The project, which represents an investment estimated at more than $1.2 billion, is intended to give Ford's employees the work environment and technology necessary to design and develop cars of the future.

In some ways, the massive project, in planning for more than three years, is long overdue.

Ford Motor Co. will add four new SUVs to its global lineup by 2020 to serve what it sees as a dramatic and ongoing shift away from passenger cars.

Mark LaNeve, Ford's vice president of sales and marketing, announced the plans Thursday at the Chicago Auto Show. LaNeve said SUV sales have nearly doubled in the U.S. since 2010, and the growth is driven by consumer preference, not by low gas prices.