Ford adds 400 jobs at Oakville plant to build new Edge SUV

Ford Motor Co. says it will add 400 new jobs at its assembly plant in Oakville, Ont. where production of the new Ford Edge crossover SUV is set to launch.

Ford has said last October that 1,000 jobs would be added at the facility by the end of 2014 to build the redesigned Edge.

The automaker will make announcement about the additional jobs on Thursday when official production of the new version of the vehicle is scheduled to begin.

Ford, which has invested $700 million in the redesign, says the Edge will go on sale this spring in Canada and the United States, and will in more than 100 countries.

And, with the addition of right-hand-drive and a diesel engine, the Edge will also be exported for the first time to Western Europe.

Ford says global demand for utility vehicles is up 88 per cent since 2008 and now account for 19 per cent of the global automotive market.