Ford's U.S. Manufacturing Expansion to Bring 'Thousands and Thousands of Jobs,' Lutnick Says
Key Takeaways
- •Ford intends to begin expanding domestic Lincoln production in 2030 with the goal of eventually halting China imports for the brand's U.S. customers.
- •Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick cited Ford's plan as evidence that the administration's 25% tariff on imported vehicles and auto parts is encouraging companies to relocate manufacturing to the United States.
- •Ford has not disclosed the expected investment amount or specified which manufacturing facilities will receive the additional Lincoln production.
- •Lincoln's current American lineup includes the China-built Nautilus midsize SUV, though Ford has not confirmed whether that model's production will be relocated stateside.
- •Ford currently assembles over 2 million vehicles annually in the U.S. and employs roughly 56,300 hourly manufacturing workers nationwide.
Ford is preparing to expand U.S. production of Lincoln vehicles as the automaker moves toward ending imports from China for American customers — a development Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick highlighted while discussing the Trump administration's broader push to strengthen domestic manufacturing.
Lutnick joined FOX Business' Larry Kudlow on "Kudlow" to discuss the administration's auto tariffs and efforts to bring manufacturing back to the United States. The administration has imposed a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and key auto parts as part of a strategy designed to incentivize companies to shift production to U.S. soil.
"They're bringing their manufacturing home," Lutnick said. "Ford is going to rock us with bringing manufacturing back to America."
Ford plans to expand U.S. production of Lincoln vehicles beginning in 2030 and eventually stop importing vehicles from China for the luxury brand's American customers. The company expects the expansion to generate thousands of direct and indirect U.S. jobs but has not disclosed how much it plans to invest or which plants will receive the additional production. Ford's move places it alongside other major automakers — including General Motors, Toyota, and Hyundai — that have announced billions in new U.S. manufacturing investment in recent months as the industry recalibrates its global supply chains around tariff policy and shifting trade relationships with China.
Lincoln's U.S. lineup currently includes the China-built Nautilus, a midsize SUV competing in the crowded luxury segment against vehicles from Cadillac, Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Ford has not said whether Nautilus production will move to the U.S. under the plan or identified which China-imported vehicles will be affected.
The automaker already maintains a sizable U.S. manufacturing footprint. Ford said it assembled more than 2 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2025 and employs approximately 56,300 hourly manufacturing workers across the country.
Lutnick pointed to Ford and other automakers as examples of companies increasing their focus on American manufacturing and argued that tariffs are helping drive investment and jobs back to the U.S.
"Thousands of jobs, thousands and thousands of jobs coming back to America because of these tariffs on automotives," Lutnick said.
He also emphasized the need to prepare younger workers for increasingly automated manufacturing roles, reflecting a broader industry challenge as automakers retool plants for electric and software-defined vehicles that require different skill sets than traditional assembly lines.
"We're gonna have to train young people for these high-tech jobs," Lutnick said. "We are going high-tech in America."
Lutnick said the administration's focus extends beyond final assembly to building advanced manufacturing capacity inside the United States.
"We are going to build these factories here in America, and that's the key," he said.
Brittany Miller contributed to this report.
