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DEARBORN, Mich., April 10 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. said building battery packs for electrified vehicles at a plant in Michigan will protect hundreds of jobs and create new ones. Ford said the battery packs would be built at its Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti Township as part of a $450 million investment in assembling electric vehicles and developing and building battery packs. The Dearborn automaker said the investment would create 1,000 new jobs in Michigan by 2012.
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"This is a huge deal for our plant and the community," said Donnie Enersen, president of UAW Local 898, which represents workers at the Rawsonville plant. "Ford Motor Co. is taking a giant step in green technology…. Not only is this great for our community, it's great for the environment."
He praised UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, the union's national Ford section chief, as well as plant leaders and township officials who negotiated the deal.
"We are excited about our plans to bring battery pack development and assembly to Michigan, and will share more details soon," Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore said.
Ford had announced its $450 million plan at the Detroit auto show in January, but did not say where the battery packs would be assembled. At the show, it said it planned to build hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric models of the Ford Focus at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. The automaker also said it would bring the engineering and design of the vehicles' battery packs in-house.
