DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. has announced it will add 7,000 new hourly and salaried jobs in the U.S. between this year and next.  

This year alone, Ford says it is adding nearly 4,000 hourly jobs at several of its U.S. plants, including 1,800 at Louisville Assembly Plant, which is preparing to launch the next-generation Ford Escape late in the year. Ford says it also will add 750 salaried engineering jobs in product development and manufacturing. Next year, Ford expects to add at least 2,500 more new manufacturing positions.

"Ford is committed to American manufacturing, and we are on a path to add more than 7,000 American workers over the next two years as we continue to grow our product lineup," said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. "Working with our partners, including the UAW, Ford is finding competitive ways to engineer and build even more high-quality, fuel-efficient vehicles with technologies American consumers really want."

Ford is recruiting salaried engineers specializing in batteries, system controls, software and energy storage to work on electric vehicles in Detroit and eight other cities including Boston; Chicago; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee; Raleigh and Durham, N.C.; and San Jose, Calif.

The automaker's recruitment efforts are being launched at the 2011 North American International Auto Show during industry preview days on Jan. 12 and 13.