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Ford to Scale Back Planned Battery Plant on Weaker EV Demand
- Automaker to reduce capacity, hiring plans for Michigan site
- Company cites worse-than-expected demand, higher labor costs
The cutbacks are part of Ford’s retrenchment of its EV strategy, which includes delaying $12 billion in spending on battery-powered models.
Photographer: Angel Navarrete/BloombergFord Motor Co. is reducing capacity and hiring plans at a battery plant it’s building in Michigan because it sees weaker demand for electric vehicles.
The automaker said Tuesday that it’s resuming construction of the Marshall factory that was paused two months ago, but it will now produce enough batteries to power about 230,000 EVs a year, down from a previous plan of 400,000. Employment at the plant, due to open in 2026, will now be 1,700, according to a statement. It originally planned to hire 2,500 workers when it was announced in February.