Alisa Priddle

Detroit Free Press

Ford has added more than 14%2C000 jobs since 2011%2C exceeding the 12%2C000 Ford agreed to create by 2015.

More job creation announcements are still to come%2C Ford's manufacturing chief says.

Dearborn Truck plant has recalled 1%2C200 workers to build the 2015 F-150 in the new body shop.

Ford has exceeded its new-jobs commitment to the UAW with the announcement today of a second shift of 1,200 workers at its truck plant in Kansas City — and there is still more to come.

Adding a second shift to make the Transit commercial van brings the automaker's job creation total to more than 14,000 since 2011. That is more than the 12,000 jobs Ford agreed to create in its 2011 contract with the UAW.

"There are more announcements to come," Bruce Hettle, Ford vice president of North American manufacturing, said in an interview.

While details of future hiring remain secret, Hettle was in Kansas City today to announce the additional jobs in Missouri. Candidates have been identified; hiring begins this week followed by training. They will contribute to production in the fourth quarter.

"I am very pleased we are able to add 1,200 new jobs to the Kansas City Assembly Plant, which will strengthen this community and continue our efforts to grow good-paying, middle-class manufacturing jobs," said Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president for the Ford department. "This is possible because of the collective-bargaining process and the partnership between UAW and Ford."

Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, said in a statement that the job growth "is a testament to our strong partnership with the UAW, the union's competitiveness and the growing demand for Ford's portfolio of cars, utilities and trucks."

Ford spent $1.1 billion to retool and expand the factory in Claycomo, just north of Kansas City. There are new stamping, paint and body shops for the 2015 Transit and increased production of the F-150 pickup.

The plant will employ more than 6,000 hourly workers by the end of the year with two shifts making the Transit and three crews making the F-150. Kansas City added 2,800 workers in 2012 and 2013.

In 2015, Ford will finish a new body shop for the aluminum-body F-150. There will be a brief shutdown and temporary layoffs, Hettle said.

Similar reconstruction is under way at the Dearborn Truck Plant, which started Aug. 26 after the last steel-bodied F-150 came off the line.

About 3,000 Michigan workers went on temporary layoff last month. About 1,200 are returning this week where they will began to assemble pre-production trucks in the new body shop. Those truck bodies will go through the paint shop and final assembly beginning next week.

The remaining 1,800 Dearborn workers will be recalled gradually between October and the end of the year, Hettle said.

The European-style Transit van, made for the first time in North America, replaces the long-serving E-Series that was introduced as the Econoline in 1961 and has dominated the segment for decades. The E-Series van and wagon is being phased out later this year. The E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis will continue to be built for a few more years.

Ford sold 2,085 Transits in the couple of months it has been on sale. The company recently received an 800-van order from cable provider Charter Communications.

Contact Alisa Priddle: 313-222-5394 or apriddle@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisaPriddle.

More jobs at Ford

Since the 2011 UAW-Ford contract negotiations, Ford has added 14,000 hourly jobs at U.S. manufacturing plants. They include:

3,600 at Louisville Assembly Plant

1,800 at Michigan Assembly Plant

1,700 at Flat Rock Assembly Plant

1,600 at Chicago Assembly Plant

600 at Kentucky Truck Plant

450 at Cleveland Engine Plant

240 at Van Dyke Transmission Plant

230 at Chicago Stamping Plant

New hires already picked

Ford is adding a second shift of 1,200 workers at its Kansas City plant in Claycomo, Mo., to build the Transit commercial van. The new candidates have all been identified, and hiring begins this week. They will be trained and start production in the fourth quarter.