Ford Motor Co. (F), the second-biggest automaker in the U.S., hired more than 14,000 domestic workers since 2011, exceeding a pledge it made three years ago that it would recruit 12,000 by 2015.
In its latest hiring round, Ford is adding 1,200 more jobs at its Kansas City Assembly Plant where increased demand for the Transit cargo van and the Ford F-150 truck brought 2,800 new hires in 2012 and 2013.
Ford, boosted by record profits in North America, said in May it was likely to hire more than the 12,000 workers it promised in its 2011 contract with the United Auto Workers union. Along with domestic peers General Motors Co. (GM) and Chrysler Group LLC (F), the automaker has been buoyed by resurgent demand from consumers attracted by new models and low financing costs amid a rebounding U.S. economy.
“The job growth we have created in U.S. manufacturing is a testament to our strong partnership with the UAW, the union’s competitiveness and the growing demand for Ford’s portfolio of cars, utilities and trucks,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in a statement today.