From 2500 to 1700 people
Ford said its new battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, will be significantly smaller than originally announced.
Earlier this year, Ford announced plans to build BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan, with the plant expected to begin production of lithium iron phosphate batteries in 2026. It was planned to employ 2,500 people at the enterprise, and its annual productivity was planned to be about 35 GWh.
Ford suspended construction in September. At the time, a company spokesman said: “We have not yet made a final decision regarding investment in this plant.” The company decided to make sure it could manage the plant competitively. The UAW, which was on strike at the time, saw it as a “shameful, thinly veiled threat.”
Demand for electric vehicles was not what Ford expected.
Today, Ford said it is “reconsidering the timing and scope of some investments.” The plant is under construction and is still scheduled to open in 2026, but the planned capacity has been sharply reduced: from 35 to 20 GWh. In addition, the expected number of jobs fell from 2,500 to 1,700. These cuts paint a less than rosy picture for Ford’s electric vehicle production.
Ford’s Mark Truby acknowledged that the automaker has assessed demand and expected growth of electric vehicles, its business plans, production cycle plans, availability and business to ensure the company can make this plant a sustainable business: “Having assessed all of this, we can now confirm “that we are moving forward with the establishment of a plant, albeit at a slightly smaller size and scale than we originally announced.”
