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American automaker Ford on Friday said it is preparing to utilise its Chennai manufacturing plant to roll out vehicles for exports and has intimated the same to the Tamil Nadu government. The company which in 2021 had said that it would stop manufacturing vehicles in India, has submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Tamil Nadu government, confirming its intention to utilise the Chennai plant for manufacturing for exports. The announcement follows a meeting between Ford leadership and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin as part of his visit to the United States, Ford said in a statement. "This step aims to underscore our ongoing commitment to India as we intend to leverage the manufacturing expertise available in Tamil Nadu to serve new global markets," Ford International Markets Group President Kay Hart said. Ford said the strategic move will see the facility repurposed to focus on manufacturing for export to global markets, as part of the company's ambitious 'Ford+ growth ...
If there are rock stars in philanthropy, Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, is one of them. And he's about to exit the stage. Walker, 64, has been named one of Rolling Stone's 25 People Shaping the Future and Time's 100 Most Influential People as he led one of the original American philanthropies since 2013. The foundation said Monday that he will step down from his role by the end of 2025. A search committee has been convened to find Walker's replacement, said Ford Foundation board chair Francisco Cigarroa. Walker "has guided Ford through some of the most challenging moments of our time with grace, kindness, and empathy, and his tenure will be remembered as one of the most consequential periods in the institution's nearly 90-year history, Cigarroa said in a statement. A former corporate attorney and chief operating officer of the Harlem-based Abyssinian Development Corporation, Walker oversaw major investments in advocating for gender equity and disability rights
US auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that more than 540,000 Ford pickup trucks can abruptly downshift to a lower gear and increase the risk of a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that it opened the investigation this week after receiving 86 consumer complaints about the problem with the trucks' automatic transmissions. Investigation documents say the probe covers F-150s from the 2014 model year. The agency is looking into whether those trucks should have been included in previous recalls for the problem. The complaints allege that the trucks can suddenly shift to a lower gear without warning. Often, the rear wheels locked up, with one consumer telling the agency that his truck downshifted abruptly, causing it to crash into a concrete barrier and another vehicle. Both the pickup driver and the driver of the other vehicle were hurt. The company said it's working with NHTSA to support the ...