Ford (NYSE:F) Will Plow $400 Million into Kansas City Plant

After the recent announcement by Ford Motor (NYSE:F) that they were going to move production of the their Escape SUV to Louisville, Kentucky, uncertainty over the fate of workers at their Kansas City facility was weighing on the region.

That has been addressed by the automaker, which has announced they're going to retool the plant with an investment of $400 million to prepare for a new vehicle to be made there.

The yet-to-be-identified vehicle will help keep any jobs which may have been lost when production shifts to Louisville later in the year at the plant.

About 3,750 workers are employed at the Kansas City facility.

Ford currently assembles the Escape and F-150 pick-up at the plant.

Ford was trading at $18.70, up $0.06, or 0.29 percent, as of 1:40 PM EST.

Ford (NYSE:F) Will Continue Offering Kinetic Design

Based on the popularity of the Ford (NYSE:F) Escape and the up and coming Vertex concept car, the giant automaker say they're going to continue to offer the Kinetic design to consumers going forward.

Martin Smith, the Ford Motor Company executive design director, said, “Based on the tremendous consumer interest will be the presence of all-new Fiesta and Focus, we are sure to continue offering the kinetic design of future generations of our SUV vehicle, too.”

Ford gave the public their first look at the vehicle at the North American International Auto Show.

Ultimately the Vertex should eventually replace the popular Escape in the future.

Ford closed Friday at $18.65, dropping $0.03, or 0.16 percent.