Ford will build a new $1.6 billion factory in Mexico, creating about 2,800 jobs and shifting small-car production from the U.S.
The announcement Tuesday comes at a time when moving jobs to the south has become a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
Ford Motor Co. wouldn't identify what vehicles the plant will build. But the United Auto Workers union has saidFord plans to shift production of the Focus compact and C-Max hybrid from suburban Detroit to Mexico, where the cars can be made at lower cost and more profitably.
The company plans to preserve the Detroit-area plant's jobs by adding two vehicles.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump has railed about corporate America moving jobs to Mexico to take advantage of what he calls a lopsided trade agreement.