Ford moves Focus production from Mexico to China

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - Ford will move its production of its Focus small car model from Mexico to China, according to a statement by the company Tuesday.

The decision is estimated to save Ford $1 billion in investment costs, while "improving the financial health of its Focus business and further improving manufacturing scale in China," the statement said.

Chinese production of the Focus is set to begin in the second half of 2019 and will be directed to the North American market, Ford said.

The move will put the automotive giant in opposition to President Donald Trump, who said shortly after taking office that American companies that import their products to the U.S. should pay extra taxes.

While Trump's plan has not yet been realized, Ford assured that moving production from Mexico to China would not affect American jobs.

"No U.S. hourly employees will be out of a job tied to the new manufacturing plan for Focus," the statement read.

Ford said it would also invest $900 million in its truck plant in the state of Kentucky, which will secure 1,000 jobs in the U.S.

The company invested $1.3 billion and created 2,000 jobs in late 2015 at the Kentucky plant that currently employs nearly 7,600 full-time hourly workers, according to the statement.

Ford announced in early January it plans to cancel a $1.6 billion investment plan in a new Mexico plant, but instead will invest $700 million in the state of its headquarters, Michigan, to create 700 new jobs.