Ford to invest $400 mln in Kansas plant, create 3,750 jobs

US automaker Ford Motors (NYSE: F) on Tuesday announced that it would invest $400 million in its Kansas City plant to install a new body shop, new tooling and other upgrades.

The Kansas City plant will shift from production of the Ford Escape SUV in order to accommodate production of the new vehicle, while retaining full-time employment of 3,750, the carmaker said in a statement.

This investment and promise of a new vehicle to be built in Kansas City reinforces Ford's commitment to U.S. manufacturing and American jobs, said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.

The Kansas City Assembly Plant is the fourth North American facility Ford is retooling for production of new vehicles that are at the heart of an increasingly balanced lineup of cars, trucks and utilities.

In December Ford announced it was investing $600 million in a Louisville, Ky. plant to build the next-generation Escape there, adding 1,800 jobs.

At the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, Ford announced plans to add 7,000 jobs by the end of 2012, including, in addition to factory workers, 750 engineers who will work on new vehicle technologies.

Ford worked with Missouri's governor, Jay Nixon, and the Missouri state legislature to craft a package of tax incentives for auto manufacturing in the state, Ford said in its announcement.

Last year, we came together to pass the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act to help our state compete for the production jobs of the future, Nixon said in the announcement. That hard work paid off.