Eric Trump slams Ford again on Twitter; but here are the facts
Ford operates seven engine plants in North American, including four in the U.S., two in Canada and one in Mexico
This time, it’s Eric Trump who is going after Ford for moving jobs to Mexico.
The son of Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump tweeted a photo Tuesday of a plant in Brook Park, Ohio, and commented: “For anyone who wants to know what jobs leaving the USA looks like, here is the closed Ford plant in Brook Park, Ohio.”
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The tweet is the latest case of the Trump campaign and now his family repeatedly targeting Ford for moving jobs to Mexico while ignoring the investments in Mexico by nearly all other automakers.
As of Wednesday afternoon young Trump's tweet had been re-tweeted more than 4,700 times.
While the tweet could be technically accurate, it is also misleading and has created confusion on Twitter and among the public.
"I saw this tweet, and I did not see it as being true, because I remembered the articles back in February about new investments in the plant," said Larry LaCosta, of Sugar Land, Texas, who called the Free Press to find out if Trump's tweet was accurate.
Eric Trump did not respond to a question via Twitter Wednesday afternoon asking which plant he photographed and Trump's campaign in Michigan did not immediately respond to questions about the tweet.
Ford, in response, issued a statement that has become familiar in the ongoing feud between the automaker and the presidential candidate:
"Ford’s investment in the U.S. and American jobs remains strong. In the past five years, the company has invested $12 billion in U.S. plants and created nearly 28,000 U.S. jobs. We have more hourly employees and produce more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker," the company said.
Here is the truth: Ford has closed plants in Brook Park, Ohio, which is located about 12 miles southwest of Cleveland, but also has recently invested in a plant that continues to churn out five different types of engines.
Ford closed a foundry in 2010 that made cast iron engine blocks after it began importing aluminum engine blocks from Canada, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. That plant, which once employed more than 10,000 people, had just 300 workers when it closed its doors. But automakers have largely moved past cast iron engine blocks in favor of lighter metal alloys.
Then, in 2012, Ford closed the Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2 in Brook Park and transferred the remaining workers to another engine plant on the same manufacturing campus.
Ford operates seven engine plants in North American, including four in the U.S., two in Canada and one in Mexico.
The automaker's remaining plant in Brook Park, Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, continues to operate and has a bright future. Today, Ford employs 1,750 employees there, invested $145 million earlier this year and added 150 employees.
That investment is part of a commitment Ford made last year when it reached a new contract with the UAW to invest $9 billion in U.S. plants over four years as it creates or retains 8,500 jobs. Ford confirmed its investment plan for the engine plant in Brook Park in February.
Since then, the Dearborn automaker has added 150 jobs at the plant and has begun producing a next-generation, 3.5 Liter EcoBoost for the Expedition and Navigator and F-150 lineup.
Ford also makes the following engines at the plant:
- 2.0-Liter EcoBoost for Edge and Escape
- 2.3-Liter EcoBoost for Explorer, Mustang and MKC
- 3.5-Liter EcoBoost for the Expedition and Navigator and F-150
- High-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost for the all-new 2017 F-150 Raptor
- 3.7-liter engine for the Mustang and Transit
Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely.