Ford to make a comeback in India to boost exports, hire up to 3,000 more

Chennai: US automaker Ford Motor is making a comeback in India and will restart its manufacturing plant in Chennai to boost exports, along with hiring another 2,500-3,000 employees, it was announced on Friday.

According to Kay Hart, President, Ford International Markets Group, the step aims to “underscore our ongoing commitment to India as we intend to leverage the manufacturing expertise available in Tamil Nadu to serve new global markets.”

In a post on LinkedIn, she said the company has submitted a letter of intent (LOI) to the “government of Tamil Nadu in India, outlining Ford’s intention to utilise our Chennai plant for manufacturing for export”.

The decision follows multiple meetings with the Tamil Nadu government.

“We appreciate their ongoing support as we have explored different options for the plant. I know people will be curious, but we will have more to share about the type of manufacturing and which export markets we'll be focusing on, along with other details, in due course,” Hart mentioned.

Ford Motor ceased operations in India in 2021 due to low sales and financial losses in the highly-competitive domestic automotive market.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had posted on X social media platform that he had a very engaging discussion with the team from Ford Motor.

“Explored the feasibility of renewing Ford’s three-decade partnership with Tamil Nadu, to again make in Tamil Nadu for the world,” he said. The Chief Minister also visited the headquarters of Google, Apple, and Microsoft and entered into MoUs with these tech giants for investments in Tamil Nadu.

According to Hart, the decision will add to Ford’s growing employee base in Chennai.

“Our global Ford Business Solutions team based there is already more than 12,000-strong and we are planning to increase that by another 2,500 to 3,000 team members in the next few years,” said Hart.

Ford also has its engine manufacturing team based in Sanand, Gujarat. India is the US automaker’s second-largest employee base worldwide.