Ford Motor is dramatically stepping up its hiring of engineers, software workers and other salaried employees to meet the increased demand for a new high-tech era in the auto industry.
Ford said it will increase white-collar hiring by 36%, or 800 jobs, to a total of 3,000.
About 80% of the new hires will be engineers and information technology workers needed to design the next generation of vehicles that will succeed the Fusion, Focus, F-150 and other models on the road today.
"The vast majority of these jobs are new," says Felicia Fields, group vice president of human resources for Ford. It's a huge counterpoint to the dark days between 2006 and 2009 when Ford laid off or lost 13,000 salaried employees and many hourly workers during the recession.