MILWAUKEE—There are a lot of good reasons for Harley-Davidson to open an assembly plant in Thailand, and few, mostly jingoistic, ones against it, but the irony is that the quintessential American motorcycle maker is going abroad because it is being punished by the same sort of trade rules it once championed.
TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. wants to smooth the oft-bumpy ride for startup companies by forming a new venture capital business. Armed with an initial $100 million to invest, Toyota AI Ventures will seek companies that are taking on challenging research related to artificial intelligence and robotics.
CANTON, MS—Employees at Nissan’s assembly plant here have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a unionization vote within a month.
MEXICO CITY—Mexico’s automotive industry is anticipating its eighth consecutive year of record-high production and exports. And in a bid to stay competitive, the industry is embracing ever more automation.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TX——Siemens has opened its newly expanded assembly plant here. The 225,000-square-foot factory, which makes low-voltage circuit breakers, has added 100 workers, bringing total employment at the facility to 650 people.
SPARTANBURG, SC—BMW plans to invest $600 million to expand production at its assembly plant here, adding 1,000 jobs to the workforce. The investment is part of a push to produce 450,000 vehicles annually at the plant.
LOUISVILLE, KY—Ford Motor Co. is investing $900 million to upgrade its Kentucky Truck Plant to build all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. This investment is in addition to a $1.3 billion investment the auto maker announced in late 2015.
ESSEX JUNCTION, VT—Production was temporarily halted at GlobalFoundries’ microchip factory here after a computer virus was uploaded to some manufacturing tools.
HUNSTVILLE, AL——Blue Origin will invest $200 million to build a new factory here to make rocket engines. The facility is expected to employ 342 people.
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