Ford Suppliers Add 5,500 Jobs to
Support Global Launch of All-New Ford Focus
DEARBORN, Mich. – As the all-new
Ford Focus gets set to hit dealer showrooms across Europe and
North America, Ford’s global supply network is expanding to meet
the needs of the vehicle’s international launch.
Of the 310 suppliers in 22
countries making parts for the new Focus, many are adding jobs,
facilities and equipment in local communities to produce the
vehicle. Others have been able to maintain employment levels as
a result of Focus sourcing. Among the major Focus suppliers
alone, 5,500 jobs have been added at facilities in North
America, Europe and Asia to produce parts for the new Focus.
“Suppliers are critical to the
success of the new Focus, and they are stepping up to support
Ford in this important launch,” said Tony Brown, group vice
president, Ford Global Purchasing.
Developed in Europe for sale in
more than 120 markets worldwide, the new Focus is a key part of
the One Ford plan to leverage the company’s global assets.
Production is under way at Ford’s Saarlouis Assembly Plant in
Germany and at Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. New Focus
production will be expanded to Ford’s plant in St. Petersburg,
Russia, later this year. Production in the Asia Pacific region
will begin in 2012, when new Ford plants come on line in
Chongqing, China, and Rayong, Thailand.
Focus, which is part of the
company’s new global C-car platform, also sets new benchmarks
for supplier component commonality. Eighty percent of the car’s
parts and components are common around the world. Three-quarters
of the supply base for the new Focus will be the same at the
five plants where the vehicle will ultimately be built. In
addition, 65 percent of the value of Focus is sourced to
suppliers in the Aligned Business Framework (ABF), the highest
of any global vehicle.
“The new Focus raises the bar for
Ford and our suppliers in terms of common parts and global
processes that will pay off with higher quality and lower
costs,” said Brown. “It also represents a new era in how we work
with our supply base. The high level of communication, early
information sharing and data transparency between Ford and our
supply base is paying off for all of us as we move into the
global launch.”
