The Ford Motor Company of South Africa (FMCSA) has announced plans to create more than 1200 new jobs, at its Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria.
Production at the facility has been expanded to match demand of the new Ranger, Ranger Raptor and Everest.
According to the company, the total number of jobs expected to be created across the entire value chain will be about 10,000.
This increase in employee count will take FMCSA’s total workforce in South Africa to over 5000. It is part of a R3 billion investment in the country that the company announced in 2017.
“The R3billion investment in our South African plants announced in 2017 is now coming to fruition with the addition of a third shift to increase our production output,” said Ockert Berry, vice-president operations, Ford Middle East and Africa.
Between 2009 and 2018, FMCSA has invested R11 billion in the country. Apart from serving local and neighboring markets, Ford’s South Africa plant also exports engines to North America, Europe and China.
The Silverton plant’s production capacity will go up from 124,000 units per year, to 168,000 units.
“The third shift will allow us to ramp-up our production from the current 506 vehicles assembled per day to a peak of 720 units to satisfy the strong demand from customers in South Africa, as well as for our crucial exports to 148 markets around the world,” Ockert added.
