Ford to Keep French Plant Open with Government Aid

Ford Motor Co. has agreed to continue to operate a transmission factory near Bordeaux, France, and retain 1,000 jobs there for at least five years in exchange for €13 million ($11 million) in aid from federal and local governments.

The company is investing €125 million ($107 million) to prepare the facility in Blanquefort to begin making a new 6-speed automatic gearbox for compact cars in Europe and elsewhere, based on a framework agreement with France late last year.

The plant, which currently produces five-speed automatic transmissions for export, has 1,200 employees but only enough work for 300 of them.