Ford makes way for $2B venture by laying off 1,600 Kentucky plant workers. Could this move soon impact utility bills?
Amid taking a $19.5 billion hit, primarily tied to its sinking electric-vehicle (EV) business, on Dec. 15, auto giant Ford (F:NYSE), in addition to refocusing on manufacturing gas-powered and hybrid vehicles, announced a new venture into the energy storage business. (1)
Part of the new strategy involves repurposing an EV battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky, resulting in sweeping layoffs. According to local media, approximately 1,600 workers will lose their jobs during the transition — although they will have an opportunity to claim one of the 2,100 jobs the company has committed to bringing to the plant. (2)
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Ford says it’s investing $2 billion in the venture, which includes retooling the plant to create battery energy storage systems for utilities and data centers that train artificial intelligence (AI). It hopes to have the plant back up and running in 18 months.
“Instead of plowing billions into the future knowing these large EVs will never make money, we are pivoting,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told The Wall Street Journal. (3)
So, how might a shift like this affect household energy bills?
Big bet on battery storage
After the federal $7,500 EV credit was eliminated under President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” demand for EVs cratered across the country. U.S. sales fell more than 41% in November, according to Reuters, following the credit’s expiration at the end of September. (4)
But the market for batteries isn’t dying out completely. There’s a booming demand for energy solutions as AI data centers have created an insatiable demand for electricity. As AI usage grows, the demand for electricity is expected to grow alongside it.
As of 2023, data centers consumed around 4.4% of total U.S. electricity. The Department of Energy expects this demand to grow, projecting that data centers will consume 6.7% to 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028.
Ford’s decision to invest billions of dollars into the battery storage industry follows signs of potential growth in the energy sector. Data centers and utility companies may soon find themselves in need of more battery storage systems, and Ford is trying to fill some of that demand.
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