DEARBORN, Mich.— Ford Motor Co. plans to hire 2,200 salaried workers in the U.S. this year — the largest increase in new salaried workers in more than a decade — to support the continued aggressive pace of new Ford product introductions.

The hiring is in addition to the more than 8,100 combined hourly and salaried jobs Ford added in the United States in 2012, as the company increased production capacity and expanded engineering, manufacturing and other areas to meet the growing demand for its fuel-efficient, high-tech vehicles. Approximately 1,000 of these positions were hourly jobs brought back to Ford plants in the United States from other locations, including suppliers in Japan and Mexico.

The company now is more than halfway to the 12,000 new U.S. jobs it committed to deliver by 2015 as part of its 2011 contract with the United Auto Workers.

“Our One Ford plan is designed to create profitable growth, and our new hiring is a direct result of our plan working,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas. “As we expand our product lineup of fuel-efficient vehicles, we need more people in critical areas — such as in a range of engineering activities, vehicle production, computer software and other IT functions — to ensure we deliver the vehicles people want and value.”

To attract new team members, Ford is expanding its use of social media to reach new, technology-savvy workers, including such sites as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The company also is stepping up its recruiting efforts to reach military veterans.

The company also announced in late December it is spending more than $773 million on new equipment and capacity expansions across six manufacturing facilities in southeast Michigan as it delivers on a commitment to invest $6.2 billion in U.S. plants by 2015.

The investments in Michigan will create 2,350 new hourly jobs and allow the company to retain an additional 3,240 hourly jobs. The 2,350 new positions also are part of the 12,000 hourly jobs Ford is adding across the U.S. by 2015.

“We are proud to expand our U.S. manufacturing operations in line with our aggressive new product introductions — and to create more jobs,” said Jim Tetreault, Ford vice president of North America Manufacturing. “This would not be possible without the cooperation of our UAW partners. By working together, we have crafted labor agreements that improve our competitiveness and allow us to bring jobs back to Ford and the U.S.”