(More) Ford in the future...

I once saw a posting on a tourist website (ok, it was the Thorn Tree Mexico Message Board), claiming there were no Fords in Mexico. I thought that was kinda strange, since they've only been built there since 1926. And, at the time, I lived just down the street (on the corner of calle Henry Ford) from this building (next to another popular U.S. import -- Sam's Club). What made me think of that was this item from today's el Financiero en linea:

Mexico, June 16th.- Ford Motor Co., planning to cut jobs and close factories in the U.S., will upgrade and expand threeMexican plants over the next several years. Auto assembly plants in Cuautitlan and Hermosillo and anengine plant in Chihuahua will get the investment, Ford said onits Web site, without giving any estimates of cost or specifictiming. The automaker said it hasn't yet decided where to locatea new, low-cost North American auto plant. Investing in Mexico may rankle union members in the U.S.Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford plans to cut 30,000 jobs in itshome market and close 14 North American factories by 2012 as itloses U.S. sales and market share. The United Auto Workers unionrepresents only workers in the U.S. "It s absolutely critical that they do more in Mexico, aheck of a lot more", said David Healy, an analyst for BurnhamSecurities Inc. "They pay way too much for labor in the U.S." The Oakland Press of Pontiac, Michigan, reported this week that Ford plans to invest $9.2 billion in its operations inMexico between now and 2012 to build a new plant and boostproduction of engines and transmissions. The newspaper said itobtained a 28-page company document etailing the plans. Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, released the information on its Mexican plans today in response to media speculation about the investment, spokesman Said Deep said. "Of our total North American investment, 90 percent isstill in the U.S., with less than 5 percent in Mexico", Deep said. "And for engineering resources, that s 98 percent in theU.S.". (Information provided by Finsat)