Ford to hire 11,000 in Asia and US as new plants open

Ford Motor plans to add 11,000 jobs in the US and Asia in 2014, with more than half of those hires coming in the latter region where the company is scheduled to open two factories.

Ford plans to hire about 6,000 people in Asia, most of them as hourly employees, according to a statement yesterday. The carmaker is on track to open its Changan Ford Assembly Plant No3 and Changan Transmission Plant in Chongqing, China, next year, the company said.

Ford's Asia-Pacific Africa unit sold its one millionth vehicle of the year in October, the Michigan-based company said. The carmaker is on pace for six million sales globally in 2013.

"With more products, plants and people, in 2014 we will take another significant step in the implementation of our Asia-Pacific growth plan," Dave Schoch, president of Ford Asia-Pacific, said in the statement.

Ford will add 5,000 jobs in the United States to maintain its momentum after gaining more market share there than any other carmaker this year.

More than half of the new US hires will be salaried technical professionals to support Ford's plan to introduce 16 new vehicles in North America next year. The payroll expansion will continue following the hiring of almost 6,500 people this year.