UAW President Dennis Williams called Ford's plan "very troubling," in a statement, and said the investment by Ford meant creating jobs that "should have been available right here in the U.S.A."

"Should" is an especially pregnant term for Williams to use, because these definitely are jobs that could -- or at least might -- have been retained in the United States if only he and his cohorts had played their hands differently in contract negotiations last year.

Essentially, Williams and his lieutenants knowingly sacrificed these small-car jobs in their new labor contract, leveraging the threat of strikes and risking the long-term interests of the union and its membership for the very, very short-term payoff of wages that ended up being significantly higher than they otherwise would have obtained - and for huge profit-sharing payouts, which for the average Ford worker were a record $9,300.