Missouri’s governor hailed news of 2,000 new jobs at Ford Motor Co.’s Kansas City assembly plant as another step in the rebirth of the American auto industry.

Gov. Jay Nixon says the company’s October 2011 announcement that it would spend $1.1 billion to expand the plant helped jump start the state’s economy, and Thursday’s announcement was proof that his efforts to revitalize the state’s auto manufacturing industry were gaining steam.

Ford plans to add 900 workers at the plant in the third quarter to make F-150 pickups, and 1,100 more in the fourth quarter to make the new Transit van.

Company officials say about 1,000 of the new jobs will be filled by Ford workers who have been laid off, while the other 1,000 will be new hires.