Cleveland-area Ford Plant Gets a Boost

Ford Motor Co.'s embattled Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park, Ohio, has added a second shiftand approximately 300 jobsto accommodate increased production of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost truck engine.

The turbocharged V-6 engine will be used in the 2011 F-150 pickup.

Coinciding with the second shift, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority earlier this week announced that it has awarded Ford a five-year, 75% job-retention tax credit for the production increase at Brook Park. To qualify for the full credit, which is estimated at $4.5 million, Ford must spend $50 million in plant improvements and maintain 750 jobs at the site over eight years, according to a spokeswoman with the Ohio Department of Development.

It's been a roller-coaster ride for employees at Ford's massive Brook Park engine complex. The Cleveland Casting Plant shut down in late October, and the Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 was idle for two years until resuming productionwith a scaled-back work forcein February 2009.

The new second shift is putting some former employees from the Cleveland Casting Plant back to work, according to a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.