F Ford Motor Company

By Christina Rogers and Mike Spector 

Ford Motor Co. will forge ahead with shifting small-car production to Mexico despite repeated criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, who has warned that companies will face consequences for leaving the U.S.

Ford's plan to move production of the Focus small car from a Michigan factory to a facility in Mexico, which isn't expected to result in job losses, remains on track for 2018, Chief Executive Mark Fields said in an interview on Friday.

"We have made the decision to move the Focus out and we're making that investment now," Mr. Fields said. "When you look at moving the Focus out of our Michigan assembly plant, that's to make room for new products -- zero jobs affected, zero jobs impacted."

The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker is expected to replace the cars headed to Mexico with profitable pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles to keep the Michigan plant humming amid soaring demand for such vehicles. Unionized auto workers would keep their jobs and potentially receive larger profit-sharing checks should Ford's margins increase.

Mr. Field's remarks came a day after Mr. Trump took credit for United Technologies Corp.'s decision to keep open a Carrier Corp. furnace factory in Indiana and prevent about 800 jobs from moving to Mexico. In exchange, United Technologies, Carrier's parent, will receive $7 million in tax breaks over the next decade.

"This isn't a Carrier situation," Mr. Fields said of Ford's plan. He said Ford decided to produce the car in Mexico partly to keep the vehicle's price in line with customer expectations. "In our business, it's a long-lead investment," Mr. Fields said of the Focus plan under way. He added that Ford's U.S. investment commitments remain "as strong as ever."

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, currently Indiana's governor, helped broker the Carrier deal. Carrier still plans to close another factory in the state and send roughly 1,300 jobs across the southern U.S. border.

Mr. Trump said companies going forward would no longer "leave the U.S. anymore without consequences."

Mr. Trump has threatened to slap Ford and other manufacturers with a 35% tariff for importing goods from countries with lower labor costs. The pledge resonated with blue-collar workers, helping Mr. Trump win close election battles in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the three decisive states that propelled him to the White House.

Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com and Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 02, 2016 16:41 ET (21:41 GMT)

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