Donald Trump’s winning streak got a little bit longer—after Ford announced they would scrap a billion-dollar car assembly plant in Mexico, and bring those jobs back to Michigan.
Just hours earlier, Trump had criticized Ford’s larger rival, General Motors, for building cars in Mexico—and threatened to impose hefty taxes on cars made south of the border.
In response, Ford announced that they were scrapping their plans for a new Mexican factory—which would have been a $1.6 billion investment. Instead, production will be scattered throughout existing plants. Ford also announced they would add 700 jobs to build electric and hybrid vehicles at a plant in Flat Rock, Michigan.
Ford said they did not consult with Trump or his team before making the decision, but Ford CEO Mark Field also made it clear that Trump’s economic beliefs played a major role in the decision.
“We have a president-elect who has said very clearly that one of his first priorities is to grow the economy,” he said, while making the announcement. “That should be music to our ears.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has wrung a deal from Ford: last spring, facing heavy criticism from the then-candidate, Ford dropped plants to move production for one of their Lincoln-branded SUVs to Mexico from Kentucky.
Trump famously boasted that the American people were going to “get tired of winning” if he was elected President. And with less than three weeks until his inauguration, it’s clear that Trump is already having a major impact on the creation of American jobs.