Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford called Donald Trump to tell the president-elect the auto maker won't move production of Lincolns out of Kentucky, a sign the car company aims to work with a new administration on protecting American manufacturing workers.

Mr. Trump, in a tweet posted to his Twitter account late Thursday, said he had “just got a call from my friend Bill Ford, Chairman of Ford, who advised me that he will be keeping the Lincoln plant in Kentucky—no Mexico.” He then added in a second tweet “I worked hard with Bill Ford to keep the Lincoln plant in Kentucky.”

The auto maker confirmed in a statement that production of the Lincoln MKC crossover will remain at its assembly plant in Louisville, Ky. Ford had initially planned to move output of the Lincoln model to another plant to boost production of the Escape, which is built at the same factory. The company didn’t say where it had planned to move production of the Lincoln crossover.

Ford communicated that plan to the United Auto Workers in 2015 as part of a broader contract negotiation. The Louisville plant, employing about 4,700 workers, wasn’t in danger of closing.

“We are encouraged that President-elect Trump and the new Congress will pursue policies that will improve U.S. competitiveness and make it possible to keep production of this vehicle here in the United States,” the company said.