Share price of Ford Motor Co. (F) increased 1.8% to $13.78 on Oct 14 after the automaker announced plans to increase the workforce at its Ford Rouge Center, which consists of the Dearborn Truck, Dearborn Stamping and Dearborn Diversified facilities. The company is hiring 850 new workers to speed up the production of 2015 F-150, slated to launch soon.
Ford intends to assign these workers to the three facilities at its Ford Rouge Center. Out of the total, 500 workers will be engaged in the Dearborn Truck plant while 300 will be employed at the Dearborn Stamping facility and the remaining 50 will be allocated to the Dearborn Diversified plant.
With the new additions, Ford will have a total combined hourly employment of 5,000 workers. Notably, the automaker has already hired 3,000 hourly workers this year.
The 2015 F-150 is among the toughest and smartest of vehicles by Ford. The automaker is not only hiring more workers but has also implemented changes in its work model to meet the expected demand for the truck. Keeping with this, the company recently modified its Dearborn Truck plant by replacing the legacy manufacturing equipment at the unit with the latest technology. The Ford Rouge Factory is also undergoing a complete renovation with new films, exhibits and hands-on experiences tied to the new vehicle.
After Ford’s negotiation with the UAW in 2011, the company has rapidly increased workforce at its U.S. manufacturing plants. The company has created over 14,000 new positions, surpassing the target of hiring 12,000 hourly jobs in the nation by 2015. Among these, 4000 jobs were in south-eastern Michigan, including 1,800 workers at the Michigan Assembly plant. Another 1,700 were hired at the Flat Rock Assembly plant, 250 at Rawsonville plant, 240 at Van Dyke Transmission plant and 150 at Livonia Transmission Plant.
Currently, Ford carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Sell). Better-ranked automobile stocks worth considering include Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. (CVGI), Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) and Gentherm Incorporated (THRM). While Gentherm sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Tesla and Commercial Vehicle Group carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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