Trump Convinces Ford to Move Mexican Plant to Ohio & Employ U.S. Citizens

Ford Motor Company is moving its $2 billion plant to the United States after initial plans of building it in Mexico.

The auto tycoon's move comes after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized the company, Prntly reported from CNN Money. Ford will reportedly employ 1,000 factory workers in Youngstown, Ohio.

Trump previously vowed that if he becomes the next president of the United States, he would push for a more expensive cost for manufacturers to shift work to Mexico and then export the products back to America, according to CNN Money.

"How does that help us?" the GOP frontrunner said about Ford's investment in Mexico, as quoted by the news outlet. "Mexico is becoming the new China."

On Oct. 26, Trump took credit for Ford's decision to remove its plant from Mexico.

"Word is that Ford Motor, because of my constant badgering at packed events, is going to cancel their deal to go to Mexico and stay in U.S.," he wrote on Twitter. "Do you think I will get credit for keeping Ford in U.S. Who cares, my supporters know the truth. Think what can be done as president!" Trump added.

Christin Tinsworth Baker, a spokeswoman for Ford, said in an e-mail issued to The Washington Post on Sunday that the company did not abandon plans to build facilities in Mexico, and that the latest production shift of medium-duty trucks from the country to Ohio had been planned for years. Baker also added that despite Ford's growth in Mexico, the automaker has invested $6.2 billion in U.S. plants since 2011 and employed roughly 25,000 employees in America.

Aside from Trump, Ford's strategy to construct factories in Mexico drew fire from other groups such as the United Auto Workers union. The latter negotiated with Ford General Motors (GM) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAM) on new labor contracts, which includes job security as one of the key issues, NBC News reported.

In August, Ford began production of heavy-duty versions of its F-Series pickups, which were formerly made in Mexico, at a plant in Ohio, NBC News noted. This was the first time that the F-650 and F-750 models were built in the U.S. The big trucks are heavy versions of the well-known Ford F-150, which were completely redesigned for the transfer.

"Our investment in Ohio Assembly Plant reinforces our commitment to building vehicles in America," said Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas, as quoted by the news outlet. "Working with our partners in the UAW, we found a way to make the costs competitive enough to bring production of a whole new generation of work trucks to Ohio."