Ford Motor Company (F)

[NovoMira]

Ford-UAW agreement affirms commitment to U.S. plants

Thursday February 26, 3:02 pm ET

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) has renewed its commitment to build new vehicles at five U.S. assembly plants and to consult with the United Auto Workers before it shifts any work to Mexico in steps aimed at preserving union jobs.

The commitments include new products for Ford's Ohio Assembly, Kansas City Assembly, Michigan Assembly, Louisville Assembly and Chicago Assembly plants, according to a copy of the negotiated contract changes obtained by Reuters.

The commitments by Ford, including a pledge to make the UAW a closer partner in its product planning process, provide one of the earliest indications of what the No. 2 U.S. automaker promised the union in order to win cost-savings in other areas.

The revelations come as Ford's rivals General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM) and Chrysler LLC rush to complete their own concessionary deals with the UAW that are expected to be broadly modeled on the Ford agreement.

Spokesmen from Ford and the UAW both declined to comment.