Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mark Dayton today released the following statement on the Ford Motor assembly plant in St. Paul.

“I am enormously relieved that St. Paul’s Ford plant was spared from closure today. I will do everything I can to ensure that it will always remain open.”

Ford Motor Company announced Monday its plans to close 14 manufacturing plants, including seven assembly plants, throughout North America. St. Paul’s Ford plant, a candidate for closure, was not included in the announcement. Chairman and CEO Bill Ford said the company will shut down assembly plants in St. Louis, Atlanta, and Wixom, Michigan, and will also eliminate between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs, by 2012. Two more assembly plants, as yet to be determined, are also slated for closure by 2008.

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