Current
The 4,700,000-square-foot (440,000 m2) on 1,270 acres (5.1 km2) facility employs 4,725 people. Plant tours were discontinued on September 12, 2001 due to the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks.
The KCAP is responsible for building the popular F-150 (Ford F-Series). In December 2010 Ford announced it was moving the Ford Escape and Ford Escape Hybrid to the Louisville Assembly Plant, which is undergoing $600 million in renovations. The move stirred fears that it could result in the loss of half the jobs at the 3,700-person plant.
Missouri had been anticipating changes at the plant. In 2010 it passed the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act providing tax incentives for companies that invest in plants in the state by allowing them to keep employee withholding taxes. While the bill would benefit all industrial businesses it was specifically targeting the plant and was introduced by Jerry Nolte, whose district includes the plant. Ford could save $150 million over 10 years if it invests in the plant. The bill had been the subject of a filibuster by United States Senate candidate Chuck Purgason who objected to the favoritism extended to Ford and read aloud sections of Allan W. Eckert's The Frontiersman into the record.
A day after the announcement of the move of the Escape, Ford said a yet to be announced line would replace the Escape. In 2011, Ford said it would spend $1.1 billion on additions and upgrades, including a new stamping plant. In 2012, it was announced that the plant would be the North American lead production site for the new Ford T-Series, the North American version of Ford of Europe's Ford Transit, set to replace the Ford E-Series from 2013.
Read more about this topic: Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant
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