A tentative agreement reached between Ford and the United Auto Workers would provide a significant boost to Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant and Missouri’s economy. Under the agreement, Ford would provide a $8,500 ratification bonus and $1,500 in profit sharing to every employee by the end of the year and invest an additional $200 million on the F-150 and Transit lines, in addition to securing existing jobs at the plant. In total, the deal would inject an additional $75 million into local communities before the end of the year.
The Kansas City Assembly Plant, following a $1.1 billion investment by Ford, now has the largest capacity to build vehicles of any Ford plant in the world. Employing more than 7,000 workers, the Kansas City Assembly Plant also has one of the largest hourly workforces in the Ford network.
The Tentative Agreement was approved by local union leaders on the UAW National Ford Council on Monday and will now go before all UAW Ford members for a final vote.
The continued growth of Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant, once thought to be at risk of closure, is one of the signature achievements of Associated Industries of Missouri’s Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act. Passed by the Missouri General Assembly during the special legislative session in the summer of 2010, the legislation is credited with the revival of Missouri’s auto industry.
As a result of the act, automotive manufacturers and suppliers have invested $2 billion in Missouri over the last five years. Expansions by automakers have led to increased demand for automotive parts, strengthening Missouri’s automotive supplier network and providing a significant boost to the state’s economy. Since 2010, some 61 automotive suppliers have added or announced plans to add more than 4,619 new jobs, retain 220 existing workers, and make more than $613 million in capital investments.
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