Front-drive Efficiency: Ford to Sink $350 Million Into New Transmissions
Despite news that Ford Motor Company has started making plans to scale back its workforce in North America and Asia, there are 800 Michigan-based employees who needn’t fear for their jobs — all thanks to commitments made in the company’s 2015 deal with the United Auto Workers. Ford confirmed on Friday that it will be investing $350 million into its Livonia Transmission plant.
Keeping its end of the bargain means the site will be safe from layoffs and may even bring aboard new employees, although the number of new hires is unclear. It’s assumed the majority of the 800 hourly positions will be filled by Ford dipping into its own staffing pool.
“We remain committed to American manufacturing and investing in our people and facilities,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in a statement. “Even as the industry’s largest employer of hourly workers in the United States and biggest producer of American-made vehicles, we believe it is important to continue investing right here in our home market.”
As part of the UAW deal, Ford promised to invest $1.8 billion in the plant and add three new transmissions. Last year, the big announcement was the $1.4 billion going into the production of its new 10-speed automatic, which first rolled out in its F-150 and Raptor pickups. The new investment supports the assembly of a new, advanced transmission for front-wheel-drive vehicles. Ford claims the FWD tranny shares some overlapping design elements and software with the 10-speed and will be mated predominantly to EcoBoost motors.
The new transmission will be engineered to offer improved fuel economy and overall performance in upcoming front-drive platforms. Ford claims it is key part of its plan for more efficient powertrains.
Livonia, known for producing Ford’s 6R transmission, currently employs about 1,800 hourly workers. The new transmission jobs are expected to open up later this year, with the bulk arriving in 2018 or early 2019.
[Image: Ford Motor Co.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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After PowerShud-d-der, there is definitely room for improvement. Has any modern transmission been worse than PowerShud-d-der? No more DCT's for me.
Is this article referring to that 9-speed Ford and GM were working on together?