Ford to hire 850 workers for new F-150

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor (F) is hiring 850 workers to help build its new F-150 pickup truck.

The company says 500 of the workers will go to the Dearborn Truck plant, where the F-150 is assembled. Three hundred workers will go to the Dearborn Stamping plant and 50 workers will go to Dearborn Diversified, which makes axles and other parts.

In a statement, Ford president of The Americas Joe Hinrichs said: "As customer anticipation for the all-new F-150 continues to build, today we are bringing on 850 new jobs to help meet the market demand for the toughest, smartest, most capable F-150 ever."

With the added hiring, Ford will have nearly 5,000 hourly workers at the complex near its Dearborn headquarters.

According to the company, the Dearborn Truck plant recently "underwent the largest manufacturing transformation in decades," updating its manufacturing equipment. The $359 million renovation of the plant was in preparation for its new aluminum-clad F-150, which is scheduled to go on sale by the end of this year.

Since 2011, the company's statement says, Ford's total job creation has topped 14,000, "which exceeds its goal of creating 12,000 hourly jobs in the U.S. by 2015."

Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who is locked in a tight re-election battle, praised the new hiring.

"Ford's announcement is more positive news for the citizens of Michigan and a further sign of the comeback of Michigan, manufacturing and the auto industry," Snyder is quoted as saying in Ford's statement.