BROWN CALLS ON FORD TO HONOR COMMITMENT TO OHIO WORKERS, BUILD NEW PRODUCT IN AVON LAKE

At Senate Finance Committee Hearing, Brown Presses Company on Reports It Will Shift Production of a New Product to Mexico 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) pressed Ford Motor Company on its reported decision to break its commitment to Ohio workers and shift production of a new product from Avon Lake to Mexico. During the hearing, Brown called on the company to honor its commitment to Ford workers in Ohio and produce the new product at its Avon Lake plant.

Watch the full exchange HERE.

 “Clevelanders turned on the local news and saw headlines about yet another American corporation deciding to build things in Mexico instead of Ohio. Ford had made a 2019 commitment to invest $900 million in the Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio – an investment they promised would create more than 1,500 jobs. Ford announced instead that it has decided not to honor that promise, but instead build its next generation vehicle in Mexico. The decision to turn its back on the community is just unacceptable,” Brown said during the hearing.

Brown has introduced legislation, the American Cars, American Jobs Act, which would put U.S.-made cars on equal footing with foreign-made vehicles and update the tax code to remove incentives for auto companies to offshore jobs. Brown initially introduced the legislation after GM announced it was laying off thousands of Ohio workers at the same time it was building the new Chevy Blazer in Mexico.

 At a 2018 Senate Finance Committee, an expert witness said Brown’s bill would ‘absolutely’ help American autoworkers. The Toledo Blade editorialized that Brown’s bill would “put America and American workers first.”