FCA to Move Heavy-Duty Truck Production from Mexico to Michigan

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV says it will invest more than $1 billion to move production of its Ram heavy-duty pickup trucks from Saltillo, Mexico, to Warren, Mich., in 2020.

The plan will add 2,500 jobs at the Michigan factory, which already makes the Ram 1500 light-duty pickup. FCA plans to retool the Saltillo plant to make commercial vehicles for global distribution.

The move will shield the trucks from the possibility of import tariffs on vehicles from Mexico if President Donald Trump pulls the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne presented that option a year ago and said action would depend upon how U.S. tax and trade policies evolved.

The new investment in Warren Truck Assembly is in addition to an earlier expansion announced a year ago. That project is preparing the complex to begin making the all-new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs in 2020.

FCA also will make special $2,000 bonus payments to about 60,000 of its employees in the U.S. The company says both initiatives were prompted in part by last month’s passage of federal tax reform legislation, which will lower corporate tax rates.​​​​​​