Ford did not factor-in drug war when they moved factories to Mexico

In 2006, Ford Motor Corp. announced that it would close seven plants across the country by 2008. Ford plans to lay-off 34,000 workers by 2012.

Shortly after the devastating announcement was made, The Detroit Free Press discovered documents which detailed Ford's plans to invest $9.2 billion in Mexico, which includes a new 280,000 square foot assembly plant. Ford already produced a large portion of their vehicles in Mexico and with their plans to expand existing plants and using local suppliers, Ford is now well on their way to creating another 37,420 jobs in Mexico.

Ford is not only replacing all of their laid-off American workers with Mexicans, they are adding another 3,420 employees south of the border.

One of those factories re-located to Mexico was the century-old Norfolk Ford Truck Assembly Plant, where the F-150 was built by generations of Ford families.

However, while Ford certainly saw the potential for soaring profits by basically eliminating their payroll costs in Mexico where the daily minimum wage is about $4.50 a day, they did not count on their business plan becoming another casualty in Mexico’s raging drug war.

Sales of Ford’s Lobo pick-up truck are falling sharply with Mexican consumers because as it turns out, the truck is a favorite of cartel hitmen and drug runners. Drivers are now afraid to drive the truck out of fear for being mistaken by cartel gunmen as a rival.

Gabriel Lopez, the president of Ford in Mexico, recently said: “It's a vehicle that is in high demand for committing crimes. There's plenty of space in the pick-up's cabin for more weapons.”

Lopez continued: “The [sale] of big pick-ups for personal use has fallen because of insecurity. It is the only segment that has.”

Slumping sales of the F-Series pick-ups has pushed Ford’s market share in Mexico down to 10.7 percent from a high of 16 percent just a few years ago.

The well-armed gang members often steal pick-up trucks when they are preparing for attacks on rivals cartels or Mexican police forces.

As a direct result of the war between the cartels, Ford's overall sales in Mexico have fallen 7.1 percent from a year earlier.

In October, the U.S. State Department released a the results of a survey of 220 U.S. private companies which showed 15 percent of them have postponed investments or expansion plans in Mexico due to the violence now paralyzing that country.  

Powered By iWebRSS.comread interesting immigration news opinions