Come back, Tamil Nadu CM tells Ford Motors

Chennai: Entreating Ford Motor Company to resume its automobile production and expand its global technology centre in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M K Stalin invited IT Serve Alliance, the largest consortium of IT service companies for small and medium businesses in the US, to make new investments in his State..

Meeting senior honchos of both Ford and IT Serve Alliance at Chicago, as part of his ongoing interactions with executives and CEOs of various US companies on Tuesday, Stalin discussed new business investments by both Ford and IT Serve Alliance in Tamil Nadu to generate more jobs for the youth.

IT Serve Alliance now operates with 2,400 member companies across 23 states in the US, supporting business friendly policies, enhancing networking opportunities, improving local communities through CSR and STEM initiatives and providing legal assistance for high-performance employee immigration.

Stalin met with IT Serve Alliance's National President Jagadish Mosali, Directors.Siv Moopanar and Samp Moova, Chicago wing President, Satish Yalamanchili, and other senior officials, and invited them to make new investments in Tamil Nadu to provide jobs for skilled youth.

The honchos of Ford, the second-largest American automobile manufacturer operating worldwide with its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, who met Stalin included Ford's IMG President, K.Hart, Vice President (International Government Affairs), Matthew Kotlowski and Ford India Director (Government Affairs), Sripath Pat.

The Chief Minister requested them to resume the automobile production in Tamil Nadu, which was stopped very recently, and to expand their global technology and business solutions center in Chennai. Ford, which entered India in 1995 by setting up an automobile manufacturing unit at Maraimalainagar, near Chennai, closed the plant in 2022. It now runs only the back office operations from Chennai.

Since Tamil Nadu has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and as a leading state in India with a high number of industries, the Chief Minister’s invitation to the executives of Ford Motors could be taken into consideration by the automobile maker.

Even otherwise, to attract more business investments, Tamil Nadu has been developing world-class infrastructure facilities, industry-specific parks, and various new initiatives, including research and development projects, innovation programs, and skill development centers, supported by comprehensive industry policies.

It was on the strength of those initiatives that the Chief Minister has been making significant efforts to create more job opportunities for the youth and enhance industrial growth in the State and has also undertaken the latest official visit to the USA to attract business investments.

The visit has already borne fruits with the signing of agreements worth Rs 70.16 billion with 16 leading global companies in San Francisco and Chicago. Besides, invitations have been extended to senior executives of various top global companies to invest in Tamil Nadu.