Ford Spends $350 Million to Expand U.S. Transmission Plant

Ford Motor Co. says it will invest $350 million to prepare its transmission plant in Livonia, Mich., to begin making a new gearbox for front-drive vehicles by 2019.

The expansion is in addition to $1.5 billion the company invested in the facility last year to build a new 10-speed automatic transmission for its F-Series pickup trucks. Both gearboxes will share software and manufacturing processes.

Ford announced the new program two days after acknowledging it will eliminate about 1,400 white-collar jobs worldwide. The company says the Livonia project will retain or add a combined 800 hourly jobs at the facility, which current employs about 1,800 people. The plant also makes 6-speed gearboxes.