Workers at Brook Park Ford plant OK contract expected to add more jobs

CLEVELAND - Workers at the Brook Park Ford plant near Cleveland have approved a new contract that has guaranteed the facility a new product expected to keep it viable for years.

The Plain Dealer newspaper reports that Ford officials will be at the plant on Thursday, likely to announce that a new fuel-saving four-cylinder engine will be manufactured there.

United Auto Workers Local 1250 President Mike Gammella tells the newspaper that the new pact could bring employment at the plant to 1,800 within a few years -- up from a little over 1,000 now. The contract was approved Monday.

Gammella says he expects about 200 people to be hired in the first round and more as Ford adds the small engine to other vehicles.