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The United Auto Workers union has informed workers at the Avon Lake Ford plant that it plans to move a major project slated for 2023 from Northeast Ohio to its plant in Mexico.
The letter, dated Friday, March 12, stated that Ford is going back on its agreement to build a “next-generation vehicle” at the Avon Lake plant in 2023.
In 2019, the UAW says Ford promised to invest $900 million in a new project at the Avon Lake plant, that was set to begin production in 2023. The agreement also included a “complete revitalization” of the facility.
Ford released a statement to 3News Tuesday that said:
“Ford employs more hourly workers in the U.S. than any other automaker, assembles more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker, and Ford chooses to invest in America more than any other automaker.
“We remain committed to investing $6 billion in our U.S. plants and creating and retaining 8,500 jobs in America during this four-year UAW contract. We are invested in Ohio Assembly Plant and our dedicated workforce there,” the statement says. “Since 2019, we have invested more than $185 million and created and retained more than 100 jobs at Ohio Assembly Plant, including actions planned for this year. This includes increasing our capacity to build additional Super Duty trucks at Ohio Assembly Plant to meet strong consumer demand.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown called on Ford to honor its agreement.
“Clevelanders turned on the local news and saw headlines about yet another American corporation deciding to build things in Mexico instead of Ohio. Ford had made a 2019 commitment to invest $900 million in the Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio – an investment they promised would create more than 1,500 jobs. Ford announced instead that it has decided not to honor that promise, but instead build its next generation vehicle in Mexico. The decision to turn its back on the community is just unacceptable,” Brown said.