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In early January 2013, Bob Ferguson, one of Cadillac’s top executives made a statement that the company is “working hard” on a new small crossover. It will be slotted at a pricepoint just below the company’s popular SRX. The vehicle is set to cadillac emblemcompete with a more urban vehicle targetted at younger buyers than the mature segment that the current SRX is popular with. The vehicle will compete with the likes of the Lexus RX350, the BMW X5, and others.

Although production and sale dates haven’t been revealed, Ferguson made a comment that this vehicle is far beyond being just a possibility, and that the vehicle is heavy into the design process. Competition carmakers have made advances in the American small crossover market, with the BMW revealing the X1, and Audi planning to bring it’s popular Q3 overseas from Europe. Buick will roll out the Encore SUV and Lincoln is set to reveal it’s new MKC concept crossover. The small crossover segment is booming, mostly because carmakers have to find a balance between stricter fuel consumption standards, emission standards, and customer’s demand for functinoality and efficiency.

Ferguson was chosen previously to be in charge of GM’s massive jump on the Chinese market. Some of the company’s huge success there is attributed to Ferguson, and that is part of the reason why he was chosen to spearhead the company’s new shot at a crossover for both China and Western Europe. Cadillac has practically disappeared from the Western European markets, after many failed attempts at gaining some market share from strong European manufacturers. GM hopes that this new, fresh generation of Cadillac vehicles may finally get a foothold on European soil.

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In 2012, Ford Motor Co. hired an additional 8,100 plant workers and administration/design staff, and plans to hire 2,200 more salary and hourly workers this year in 2013. Sales are increasing at a fast, steady pace in North America, and the company is forced to hire in order to keep up with production demand. The recent hiring surge is the largest increase in salary workers in more than a decade, the company issues in a press release. There will be hiring in the manufacturing, product development, and IT sectors of the company. Ford also made a statement that the company ended 2012 with 28,000 white collar salaried employees in North America, with most of them being in the United States. During the recession, Ford dipped to a recent low of 25,000 salary workers in 2009, while just a few years earlier in 2006 it had 38,600.

Ford made a commitment in 2011 to the United Auto Workers that it will continue hiring more workers until 2015, to reach a target of 12,000 US hourly workers. The company says it will continue to push heavily for tech-savvy employees, using social media such as twitter, facebook, and LinkedIn. Ford said it will also be more aggressively seeking military veterans who are looking for domestic jobs. In late December 2012, the company announced that it will spend roughly $773 million on capacity increases and new equipment for manufacturing facilities in south-eastern Michigan.

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