Wednesday June 14, 2006 Relocating jobs outside USA

Maybe we can immigrate to Mexico?
To whom will Ford be selling their new cars?
When Henry Ford first set up the assembly line, he created his own market by giving his workers higher wages so they could afford to buy the product they were manufacturing. It seems that the only cars that will eventually be made in the USA will be by Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and Volkswagen. Maybe Ford and GM will be selling to the wealthy people in China and India?

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (F), which is slashing jobs and closing plants in the United States as it seeks to return its North American operations to profitability, is preparing to invest up to $9.2 billion in Mexico to leverage its low operating costs there, a Michigan newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Oakland Press, a Detroit-area newspaper, said the investment was detailed in a confidential, 28-page document turned over to it by a Ford employee.

The document, part of which had been prepared for a presentation in early April to officials from the Mexican government, said Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, could invest a total of $9.2 billion in Mexico over a six-year period from 2006 to 2012, according to the newspaper.

Ford spokesman Oscar Suris declined to comment on the report, calling it "speculative."
The newspaper said a second source familiar with Ford operations vouched for the authenticity of the document, "which suggested the automaker's investment could potentially create up to 150,000 jobs in Mexico within the next decade."

"The Way Forward - Mexico (offers an) opportunity to further leverage Ford of Mexico cost advantage and location to reduce corporate fixed costs," the confidential document said.
"We will leverage our global scale like never before and Mexico is a key partner as we're targeting lower fixed costs, better quality and speed to deliver our Way Forward plans," the document said.

Ford, which is struggling with rising costs and declining U.S. market share, currently has two assembly plants and an engine plant in Mexico. Under Ford's restructuring plan, which is dubbed Way Forward and was first announced in January, the automaker plans to close 14 plants and cut up to 30,000 hourly workers in North America.