Pasadena, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/12/2011 -- Ford Motor Co. announced plans to hire around 7,000 workers for its U.S. factories this year at the Detroit auto show.

The surprise announcement marks a return of manufacturing jobs to the country, coming at a time when several experts where predicting the demise of the manufacturing sector and the auto industry in particular.

Ford is planning to have around 4,000 of the positions as hourly factory jobs. Around 1,800 will be at its Louisville, Kentucky plant. Ford will also hire around 750 engineers for its product development and manufacturing divisions this year. In 2012, it plans on adding at least 2,500 workers in manufacturing positions.

In related news, Volkswagen announced that it was going to build the new Passat at its newly finished plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Although work on the plant was going on for almost a decade, it was announced only on Monday, which of the iconic German brand’s models would be built at its latest $1billion plant.

Volkswagen’s U.S. head, CEO Jonathan Browning even stood in front of the new Passat, with other Volkswagen employees. The employees held up signs reading “12000 JOBS”, the number of jobs that the Chattanooga area is expected to get because of the new plant.

AutomotiveCrossing has been tracking all the auto-related jobs throughout the country and has so far been able to compile a list of over 7,500 jobs.