Ford CEO Sets the Record Straight on Jobs, Trump
Ford CEO Mark Fields on the election and responds to concerns U.S. automakers may move more production overseas.
While on the campaign trail, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has made clear his goal of keeping U.S. jobs from leaving the country.
In mid-September, Ford (NYSE:F) announced it would move all small-car production to Mexico over the next two to three years, a business strategy Trump has criticized during his presidential bid. The GOP nominee stated he would place a 35% tax on Ford’s vehicles made in Mexico and sold in the United States.
“What’s said on the campaign trail is sometimes different than when ultimately you govern,” Ford CEO Mark Fields told the FOX Business Network. “I think we have a proven track record as a company of working with elected officials and policy makers from whatever party they come from and we’ll do that whoever is elected coming out of the election.”
The Ford chief executive also set the record straight on American jobs, clarifying that “no U.S. jobs are going overseas.”
“Of the vehicles that we’re taking out of the plant in Michigan, we’re actually putting in two new, very exciting plants,” said Fields. “So that’s actually going to be good news for our workers here in the U.S.”
The automaker’s CEO also explained the vitality of providing the right value in order to make a return on their products.
“Those profits come back to here, in the U.S., where we can then reinvest in the business… 80% of our North American investment of capital expenditures is right here in the U.S., and over 95% of our engineering is done here in the U.S.”