More jobs are coming at Ford (IW 500/6) as the company ramps up production of its new F-150 pick-up trucks.
The company said it would add 1,550 new jobs. Most of the hires will be in Michigan with 500 at the Dearborn Stamping and Dearborn Diversified plants, and 150 more at Sterling Axle. Another 500 jobs will go to the company’s Kansas City assembly plant.
The F-150 is the best-selling truck on the market and Ford’s fastest-selling vehicle. This year’s model features a new, lighter body made from aluminum and demand has been high.
“We sell every truck we can build, and we plan to build more," said Ford president Joe Hinrichs. He said the new jobs are proof of the quality and toughness the new F-150 delivers.
Sales are up 15% from a year ago and new trucks average just 12 days on a dealer lot before being sold. Ford reports it had its best January truck sales since 2004.
The new jobs mean hourly pay raises of nearly $10 to $28.50 for about 500 current workers, as the new hires will put Ford over its contract threshold with the United Auto Workers union. It’s also the first time union workers have advanced a pay level since new, two-tier wages were agreed upon in 2007.
Ford has surpassed its goal to hire 12,000 hourly employees by 2015, so far creating 15,000 new jobs since 2011.
