Autoworkers are Paying the Price for GOP Retreat on Innovation
Ford Motor Company will reportedly repurpose its Blue Oval facility in Hardin County, Kentucky from electric vehicle (EV) battery production to battery energy storage. As a result, it is anticipated that Ford will lay off around 1,600 workers. Blue Oval SK workers in Kentucky fought intense opposition from Ford on their way to voting to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union earlier this year in a bid for fair wages and a safe workplace.
The news comes after an announcement earlier this month that SK On and Ford would end their joint venture, impacting the Blue Oval facility and others. This includes an $11.4 billion investment in battery manufacturing across three states as well as a promise to employ more than 10,000 people. Through the dissolution of the partnership, the facilities will be split between the two companies with Ford assuming full ownership of the Kentucky plants—including Blue Oval—and SK On retaining the facility in Tennessee.
Following the announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance issued a statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:
“We are disheartened to see yet another round of autoworker layoffs thanks to Trump and the GOP Congress’ deliberate kneecapping of the U.S. electric vehicle industry. They are putting thousands of men and women out of work as companies walk back their investments in manufacturing here in the United States. Their reckless attacks will continue to cost American jobs and ripple through local economies.
“We are also dismayed by Ford’s about-face on EV production. Ford’s CEO has consistently acknowledged that EVs are crucial to the American automotive industry’s survival. Ford’s pledges to do right by workers and the environment have yielded again to political pressure and short-term financial interests and now 1,600 union workers are left with little clarity about what comes next. These workers deserve better, and our thoughts are with them.”