Good news from the auto industry today: Ford has nixed plans to build a new auto plant in Mexico. Instead, the company has announced plans to invest $700 million in an existing Michigan plant. The move will add 700 jobs to the company's Flat Rock, Mich. manufacturing plant to help it "transform and expand."
Ford will focus these changes on the electric car industry. Overall, the company plans to invest $4.5 billion into their electric car production. They will also roll out seven different electric vehicles over the course of the next five years.
Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields tells CNN Money that the investment is a "vote of confidence" for the new presidential administration. Fields says the company made the decision to change their plans after a careful analysis of what is right for their business going forward.
He also stressed that Ford made no deals with the President-elect to make the transition any easier. Instead, company leaders chose to nix plans for the Mexico plant individually, even though they did speak with the vice president-elect before they announced their decision.
Ford does say they still have plans to produce some of their smaller cars in Mexico, which aren't as popular in the U.S. However, they will not need a new facility to roll these cars out.
