Ford to spend $400 mln, add 1,200 jobs in Chicago

Ford Motor Co. said it will spend about $400 million and add 1,200 jobs at two Chicago plants to build a new, more fuel-efficient Explorer sport-utility vehicle.

The decision affects a Chicago assembly factory with about 1,200 workers and a nearby parts plant with 700 employees, Ford said in a statement today. The Explorer production, set to begin in this year's final quarter, will move from a Louisville, Kentucky, facility being retooled to build small cars.

Ford is redesigning the Explorer, once the best-selling SUV in the U.S., on a chassis used for the Taurus sedan, said Rocky Comito, president of a United Auto Workers local at the Kentucky plant. Explorer sales in the U.S. slid 33 percent to 52,190 last year as more consumers bought smaller vehicles with higher fuel economy. Ford sold more than 400,000 of the SUVs in 2000.

The decline in Explorer sales is "just stunning," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. "But Ford can take that Explorer name and, with the right design, return it to some of its former glory."

The revamped Explorer will have 25 percent better fuel efficiency than the current model, through improvements in the vehicle's design and powertrain, Ford said. The SUV now gets 14 miles per gallon in city driving and 20 mpg on the highway, according to the company's Web site.

Government Incentives

Ford said it will receive payroll-tax credits from the state of Illinois for the investment, which the automaker also said will come under a U.S. Energy Department program for advanced vehicle technology. Ford didn't provide figures.

The Chicago assembly plant will add a second shift, Ford said. The spending also includes development and engineering costs, according to the company's statement.