The Mexican workers' gain is the loss of employees in the United States, especially in the vehicle manufacturing sector. Major American carmakers are expanding capacities, but the new plants being built are in Mexico.

Toyota plans to build a $1-billion passenger car plant in Mexico, while Volkswagen would also spend $1 billion to expand its plant in Puebla State.

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The latest to announce a Mexican expansion is Ford Motor, which said on Friday that it would build a new generation of car engines and transmissions in Mexico. The expansion, which would cost Ford $2.5 billion, would create 3,800 jobs, Reuters reports.

The proximity to the U.S. and lower production cost, mainly wages, has made Mexico a major global hub for production of vehicles. The country has more than 40 free trade agreements which resulted in major automakers building plants and helping boost the Mexican economy, to the detriment of the U.S. economy and its highly paid workers, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is not taking this loss of jobs sitting down. UAW President Dennis Williams said the preference of auto manufacturers for Mexico for their expansion would be brought up at the forthcoming labor discussions in the U.S. with Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

How to secure new jobs in the U.S. for UAW's 135,000 members would be on top of the agenda when it sits at the bargaining table with the major carmakers this summer.

He said that Ford's decision to expand in Mexico was equally as disappointing as a previous announcement by GM that it would likewise expand in Mexico through a $5 billion investment.

Ford's new engine plant, the investment decision made on the firm's 90^th year in Mexico, would rise in Chihuahua. Its production of new I-4 and diesel engines for Ford at the same area would be expanded and make it the largest engine plant in Mexico.

Canada lobbied for Ford to invest in the country, but it lacked incentives to convince Ford to build the plant up north.

Ford, meanwhile, partnered with Getrag, a manufacturer of transmissions in Germany, to build a transmission plant in Guanajuato.

TagsFord, Mexico, United Auto Workers