Ford to maintain Canadian factory footprint despite high labor costs
Investment plan in works for Oakville plant
May 21, 2013 - 12:49 pm ET
TORONTO (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., Canada's top-selling automaker, is confident it can preserve its manufacturing profile in the nation despite unfavorable operating costs tied to the high Canadian dollar, the company's lead executive for the country said.
"We are optimistic despite the Canadian dollar where it is," Dianne Craig, chief executive officer of Ford Canada, said Tuesday during the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto. "So it's between the business partners that we have, certainly the government, that will enable us to at least keep the footprint that we have today."
Ford says it pays its richest wages and benefits in the world to workers in Canada, where it has retrenched to just one assembly plant.
The U.S. automaker is working on an investment plan for its Oakville plant, outside Toronto, though it's "not ready for prime time yet," she said
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