Ford Motor Company is adding 850 workers at its Ford Rouge Center manufacturing complex as it prepares to start producing the new F-150 pick-up trucks. The Rouge complex, in Dearborn, MI, includes the Dearborn Truck plant, one of three sites where the new F-150 will be assembled, where over 500 of the new jobs are expected; the Dearborn Stamping plant, where almost 300 new positions are expected; and Dearborn Diversified, where Ford produces aluminum castings for suspensions parts and forgings for truck axles.
The automaker has said it has added more than 14,000 new jobs since its 2011 contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union.
Also, the Rouge operation underwent a thorough renovation in preparation for producing the 2015 F-150.
Ford said the new positions would be in place within weeks.
“As customer anticipation for the all-new F-150 continues to build, today we are bringing on 850 new jobs to help meet the market demand for the toughest, smartest, most capable F-150 ever,” stated Ford’s Joe Hinrichs, president for The Americas. “The new truck sets new standards for the future of tough – right down to how it’s built.”
The automaker has said the new pick-up incorporates a sturdier ladder frame designed from high-strength steel, and an increased volume of body panels and other parts produced in high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloys.
In addition to the fuel-efficiency advantages of aluminum, Ford noted the new F-150 will be 700 lb. lighter than the current-model F-150 but also will have better “dent and ding resistance.”
EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings for the 2015 F-150 are expected to be announced next month.