Ford will cut $3.5 billion from its plans. As EV demand falls short, labor expenses soar at a Michigan battery company
The company said on Tuesday that it is reducing manufacturing capacity by approximately 43% to 20 gigatonne hours per year and reducing planned employment from 2,500 to 1,700 jobs.
Ford Motor firm is postponing plans for a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan as consumers transition to electric vehicles more slowly than projected, labor prices climb, and the firm seeks to save costs.
In February, Ford executives including CEO Jim Farley and Chairman Bill Ford announced the facility. Because of its ties to the Chinese battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., or CATL, it immediately became a political target.
The facility is a completely owned subsidiary of Ford, but the American automaker is licensing CATL technology to build new lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries for EVs.
Ford announced on Tuesday that it is lowering production capacity by around 43% to 20 gigatonnes per year and reducing planned employment from 2,500 to 1,700 jobs.
The decision adds to the growing global retreat from EVs by automakers. Vehicle demand is lower than predicted due to greater costs and concerns with supply networks and battery technologies, among other things.
