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Ford president of the America's Mark Fields weighs in on job creation, the new Escape lineup and the economy.
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Board is launching its redesigned escape SUV.
At a union assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky Jeff Flock is there with an exclusive interview with mark fields Ford's president -- the -- -- Go ahead.
-- -- -- And I want to Dennis nail him down on jobs how many jobs you create here and you took you said.
It by 2015 you would create 121000 new jobs how far along.
So far this year -- forward we've created over 5200 jobs.
By the end of the year we will be more than halfway to our goal which was 121000 new jobs.
By the end of 2015.
So we're well on our way.
-- gotta ask you you had sort of a a nice problem in this by the way you can see it back there horrific and that's the escape this is the new escape it's got all kinds of crazy stuff you can talk to it.
It talks back -- do it parks itself.
Stop the -- escape didn't do you had a bit of a problem in that you underestimated how big car sales would be in the first quarter of the year.
Well overall the market was was was pretty.
You know robust in the first quarter -- -- more than we expected -- share was down at that we have to put that in perspective because they're 34 years ago when the market shrank.
We rationalized -- manufacturing facilities.
We're adding that equivalent of 400000 units of capacity in the next two quarters.
So by the end of the third quarter will be back we need to do when you see rationalize that means you don't -- -- that nobody's gonna -- Absolutely our strategy simple match capacity to demand.
And this by the way I look and see that went over there this is gonna be the pace car.
At that -- that the Kentucky race this year this is your third best selling vehicle already.
And this is a big launch for you I mean that this doesn't do well I mean this this replaced the explore as the SUV that you got that.
Well this is this is off to we have a great foundation.
The escaped last year and it's last year.
Was the highest selling small utility vehicle now we have a brand new one and it's one of the biggest segments in the industry.
Real quick before we get away gonna get your take on the economy you underestimated -- little as you said the first half of the year.
We still see slow job creation I mean -- create jobs -- there's not a whole lot of the people who at all hours we see in the monthly reports.
How worried argue about people not having jobs.
Disaffected workers discourage workers that don't have a job can't think about buying.
Well we look at the business environment every week the great news -- is the economy still growing it's moderate.
We're keep -- -- -- -- because obviously the situation there is very very serious.
May have some impacts here in the US haven't quite seen it yet.
But we have seen the industry kind of come off a little bit of the strong start in the first quarter so watch it very very closely if you -- to be careful not to build again cars that.
You cancer.
Absolutely the great news is our inventories and very good shape and I ask you though about this group peer.
You're union relationship here very important to you you have brought -- back from places like Mexico other places overseas.
How are you able to do that can't you just make stuff cheaper in Mexico -- how do you bring jobs back from work.
Well it's amazing what are UAW colleagues when we sit down and we look at the facts of what it takes to be competitive.
When you work together magic can happen.
And we've done here in Louisville.
-- work together with the UAW colleagues and we're creating over 3500 jobs here your career spans quite a few years you look young but you're actually been around awhile -- you remember when it wasn't like that with the UAW.
Are you just be a nice right now or or really has there been a pretty drastic shift on the part of that.
Well I would say four to our history you know over the past 2030 years we've had a very good working relationship with the UAW.
What we've done in the last number of years is really been very open book with the challenges that face in the company.
The opportunities.
What it takes to be competitive and then we've said let's work together -- solve the problem as opposed to our own individual problems.
Before we get away on investment grade you got two out of three rating agencies.
The talk about the Triple Crown here in Kentucky all the time and Louisville what are you gonna get the Triple Crown when he got to get the third.
Well that's that's up to -- and imports were just so so proud of the fact that we were able to actually.
Get the global back because as part of the credit agreement we had a collateralized blue -- it was a very emotional day for every person in the company.
-- -- -- -- thanks maybe someday the CEO of the Ford Motor Co.
you never know.
