Ford Motor Company is canceling plans to create hundreds of jobs in Mexico, instead opting to invest more of its resources in the United States.
The announcement came hours after President-elect Donald Trump tweeted a warning to Ford's rival, General Motors, which currently imports some of its Chevrolet Cruze vehicles into the U.S. from Mexico "tax-free." Trump made clear that once he's president, that will no longer be the case.
"Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" Trump, who throughout his campaign frequently advocated for a 35 percent tax on foreign-made products that come into the U.S. for sale, tweeted on Tuesday.
General Motors later clarified to CNN that while it produces sedan Chevy Cruze models in Ohio, it manufactures the hatchback model in Mexico.
The American-made sedans, the company said in a statement on Tuesday, are sold only in the U.S., while the Mexican-made hatchbacks are sold around the world. A small number of the hatchbacks are also sold in the U.S.
Ford, which also manufactures vehicles overseas and then ships them back to sell in the U.S., announced plans to create more products in the U.S., thus generating hundreds of new jobs, a move Ford CEO Mark Fields called a "vote of confidence" in Trump's "pro-growth policies."
Speaking to CNN, Fields said the company's new plan did not result from negotiations with the president-elect, as was the case with Carrier, which critics blasted as a form of "crony capitalism."
"We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business," Fields said.
Ford said it plans to invest $700 million at its Flat Rock, Michigan, plant, creating roughly 700 jobs in the process.
Workers at that plant currently make anywhere from $20 to $30 per hour, Chris Romano, who works for Ford in Flat Rock, told CNN.
