Ford's plans to move its small-car production to Mexico aren't sitting well with Donald Trump, and the Republican presidential nominee had strong words for the car manufacturer this week during a visit to Michigan, the epicenter of the nation's auto industry.
Ford CEO Mark Fields told company investors Tuesday that the auto giant will eventually move all of its small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States, the Detroit Free Press reported.
"Over the next two to three years, we will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States," Fields said at the investor conference in Dearborn, Michigan, according to the Free Press. Ford currently manufactures its Fiesta subcompact and the Fusion mid-size sedan in Mexico, the newspaper noted.
Ford's announcement triggered a rebuke from Trump, who was on the campaign trail in Flint Wednesday. The presidential hopeful has made trade and U.S. companies moving manufacturing out of the country popular themes in his campaign.
"We shouldn't allow it to happen," Trump said of Ford's announcement, according to CNN. "They'll make their cars, they'll employ thousands and thousands of people not from this country, and they'll sell the cars right through a very weak border . . . And we'll have nothing but more unemployment in Flint and in Michigan. It's horrible."
Trump then threatened a hefty tax for Ford vehicles made in Mexico on "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning.
"When they make their car and they think they're going to get away with this . . . when that car comes back across the border into our country — that now comes in free — we're going to charge them a 35 percent tax," Trump said.
In April, Trump blasted such a move as an "absolute disgrace," the Free Press reported.
The move would continue to balloon Mexico's auto employment, which reached 675,000 jobs in 2015, the Center for Automotive Research stated, according to the Free Press. That marks a 40-percent increase from 2008.
Auto jobs in the United States rose 15 percent over the same time to more than 900,000 jobs, according to figures provided by the Center.
Autoworkers in Mexico make roughly the equivalent to $8- to $10-an-hour there, while top-tier U.S. autoworkers pull in about $29 an hour, the Detroit News pointed out, citing data from the Center for Automotive Research. Mexico does not pay as much for healthcare and pension plans, adding to the savings for automakers, the News stated.