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In 2007, the UAW agreed that new hires could be paid at half the rate as veteran workers. All but around 150 of the 1,400 workers making the Fusion are new and make $15.78 per hour, the company said. That compares with an hourly wage of $28.50 for veteran workers at the same plant. Hinrichs wouldn't comment on the profit Ford will make on the U.S.-built Fusions. Ford isn't the only company that has moved work back to the U.S. because of the lower wage rates. General Motors Co. moved production of its Sonic subcompact to Michigan from South Korea in 2011. Hinrichs said Ford has now hired 75 percent of the 12,000 hourly workers it promised to hire by 2015. Settles hinted that the company might even hire more to keep up with growing demand for new vehicles, but Hinrichs wouldn't confirm that. "We're spending a lot of time on manufacturing planning," Hinrichs said. "Let's just keep growing our business and we'll take it from there."
[Associated
Press;
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