jpd80 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 (edited) Ford making another investment in Chicago assembly plant, hiring 450 more workers By Robert Channick | Chicago Tribune | Jul 22, 2019 https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-ford-hiring-workers-chicago-assembly-plant-20190722-6mkws42565db7ophoisisjye6u-story.html Ford announced Monday it is hiring 450 workers at its Chicago assembly plant to build its police vehicles and hybrid SUVs. The automaker, which recently completed a $1 billion renovation of the Torrence Avenue facility on the Southeast Side, will spend $50 million to convert a nearby facility that modified vehicles for police use into a full assembly line to build the Police Interceptor. The facility also will build other lower-volume models such as the Explorer hybrid SUV and the plug-in hybrid Lincoln Aviator SUV. With the latest announcement, Ford will have detailed plans to add about 1,000 jobs in the Chicago area this year. “This is going to help us build more vehicles for customers this year and help us take some of the complexity off the main line,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of global operations. The modification center is less than a mile away from the main assembly plant. Ford will begin hiring the workers next week. The separate assembly line will be fully operational and staffed by the fourth quarter. Temporary workers will be first in line for the new jobs, with Ford hiring temporary workers to replace them, Hinrichs said. There are currently 4,800 hourly employees at the main assembly plant, including 500 new hires already brought on board this year. An additional 1,100 hourly employees work at Ford’s nearby stamping plant in Chicago Heights. At full capacity, three crews operate the assembly plant seven days a week. The $1 billion transformation, which shut down the plant for 30 days in March, features a host of new amenities for workers, and army of new robots to help them build vehicles. Ford’s oldest plant in continuous operation is now churning out the new 2020 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs. The investment also brought upgrades to Ford’s stamping plant. The Chicago assembly plant, which made the Model T when it opened in 1924, phased out production of the Taurus sedan last year to focus exclusively on building all-new SUVs. Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler began what are expected to be difficult negotiations on new agreements with the United Auto Workers last week. The four-year contracts expire on Sept. 14. The Detroit automakers will be looking to make labor costs more competitive with nonunion transplant companies such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda amid plant closures and slowing U.S. auto sales. The UAW, which made significant concessions in the wake of the Great Recession, will be looking for its 142,000 members nationwide to get a bigger share of the combined $15 billion in profits earned by the Detroit automakers last year, setting the table for contentious negotiations or a potential strike, according to some analysts. Edited July 24, 2019 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 (edited) The new line is not actually new, Ford is upgrading it's existing line for police vehicles to a full line so it can do the PIs, Hybrid explorers and Aviators. That should ease build complexity at the main CAP production line, and free up a ton of production space, no overflow plant required. Edited July 24, 2019 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 So how does this work? Are they building the PIU/Hybrid Explorer/Aviator on a completely separate line or are they building the unibody shell at CAP, then transferring them to the new line to be outfitted for PIU/Hybrid use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 I'm sure they're using the same paint and body just different final assembly lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decker Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 (edited) Complete assembly of 625, 611 will continue in house. Our MOD center will expand in square footage and the $50 million will be for equipment and up grade to the facility. The MOD center process was proven through our launch process and stages of the build. The move will allow for "police", "export", "black label" and future model opinion packages to be dressed out there instead of the main facility. Freeing up much needed floor space in the main facility. The complete intent of our retooling/changeover was trough put. Nothing more, nothing less. The orders demand it and JPH will supply it. At this point our transport supplier will move units between the two facilities as they currently do with TDM. It was very interesting watching the MOD center take shape but seeing the clam shell grab that first unit and proceed to see the engine and drive train stuffed outside of the main plant was fascinating. Then to see all the equipment dismantled and sent to storage till the announcement was made, was a little disappointing. But that is the Ford way. During this element of the launch we did ship bucks to the MOD for complete assembly. After the Body and Paint process, This process during full production would be impossible currently without major changes in the main plant. But it could be done. Edited July 24, 2019 by Decker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, silvrsvt said: So how does this work? Are they building the PIU/Hybrid Explorer/Aviator on a completely separate line or are they building the unibody shell at CAP, then transferring them to the new line to be outfitted for PIU/Hybrid use? From what I can gather, it’s just an assembly line that relies on painted shells coming from CAP. It looks like that’s what’s been happening in the past but now the role of the second line has been increased to include Aviator, all PIUs and all hybrids. Story goes that they’re turning 450 casuals into permanents and hiring 450 new casuals. I’m gonna stay right out of pay and conditions as that’s the domain of UAW members. Edited July 24, 2019 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolScoop Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 So will production of hybrids and PHEVs start late summer at CAP as oiginally planned, then phased over to the MOD center as it comes online... or will EV production be delayed until the MOD center is up and running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 13 minutes ago, CoolScoop said: So will production of hybrids and PHEVs start late summer at CAP as oiginally planned, then phased over to the MOD center as it comes online... or will EV production be delayed until the MOD center is up and running? Delayed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msm859 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 37 minutes ago, akirby said: Delayed Well not the answer I wanted to hear, but when will we get any information on the battery size? They have disclosed the Escape PHEV and the Euro Explorer PHEV, so what's up about the Aviator??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolScoop Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 (edited) When EV production begins at the MOD Center, will there be another OKTB procedure required for that line? If so, shouldn't OKTB be acieved much quicker this time since the painted bodies are still produced at CAP? Edited July 26, 2019 by CoolScoop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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