Ford hasn't changed its mind, no plans for Youngstown plant

YOUNGSTOWN

Ford has no plans to come to Youngstown.

The rumor of Ford opening a plant here spread Sunday night after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump retweeted a fan’s link to a blog that claimed he persuaded the company to bring a $2 billion plant from Mexico back to the U.S.

The blog, prntly.com, claims Trump’s constant criticism of Ford outsourcing jobs to Mexico led the company to change its mind and bring the work to “struggling Youngstown, Ohio.”

Trump tweeted: “Word is that Ford Motor, because of my constant badgering at packed events, is going to cancel their deal to go to Mexico and stay in U.S.”

In 2011, Ford did announced it would move production from a Mexico plant to Avon Lake, Ohio.

“Ford has not spoken with Mr. Trump, nor have we made any changes to our plans. We decided to move the F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks to Ohio Assembly in 2011, long before any candidates announced their intention to run for U.S. president. We are proud that Ford has invested $10.2 billion in our U.S. plants since 2011 and hired nearly 25,000 U.S. employees,” a spokesman said.