At an announcement inside the Louisville Assembly Plant, Ford teased its plans to build a new four-door electric pickup with a starting price of around $30,000. They also claim it will be as fast as a Mustang EcoBoost. They did not show any photos of the car or give it a name yet.
Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley called the expansion a bet on electric cars and the workforce of the state of Kentucky, saying that "automakers played it safe” for too long.
The plant, which has been open since 1955, employs more than 3,300 people to make the Ford Escape and the Lincoln Corsair, according to 2024 data.
“We took a radical approach to a very hard challenge: create affordable vehicles that delight customers in every way that matters — design, innovation, flexibility, space, driving pleasure, and cost of ownership and do it with American workers,” Farley said in a press release.
The automaker said it will have a new assembly process that requires expanding the Louisville Assembly Plant by 52,000 square feet and upgrading its digital infrastructure.
While that happens, union representatives say the plant will close for some time and workers will likely need to draw from unemployment assistance.
When the upgrades are complete, it claims the new assembly line will have less parts to put together, be 40% faster and, ultimately, be easier on workers bodies’.
In a press release, Ford said the move would "create or secure" 4,000 jobs across the U.S., including “securing” 2,200 jobs for Kentuckians – but the United Auto Workers union estimates about 3,200 workers are currently employed at the plant.
“It means a few less jobs. It’s not nearly as drastic as we expected when they first came to us talking about an [electric vehicle],” said Brandon Reisinger, head of the UAW union at the plant. “You’ve got a lot of parts that you use on a gas vehicle that are not there any more, so we were very nervous about that.”
Reisinger said the union is currently negotiating with Ford to allow workers to seamlessly transfer to other Ford factories across the country. So far they haven’t committed, but Reisinger is hopeful, citing a good working relationship with the company.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear joined Ford executives at the Louisville plant to tout Kentucky’s longstanding partnership with Ford.
“They’re going to help many Americans keep more money in their pockets. This is a massive investment in our Commonwealth,” Beshear said. “Jobs will be here in this plant in Kentucky for generations to come.”
Just not as many jobs.
Later, reporters asked Beshear if he could assure any workers that they wouldn’t be laid off as the factory becomes more efficient for the electric vehicle process.
“With the number of Ford operations across Kentucky there are going to be lots of opportunities for each and all these workers,” he responded.
Ford CEO Farley said Ford would have “plenty of jobs for everyone.”
Ford is also investing $3 billion in Michigan-based BlueOVal Battery Park to make batteries for the electric pickup. Officials say the batteries will take up less space and decrease weight while reducing costs for customers.
In a press release, Ford said it will announce additional specs on the midsize electric pickup, including reveal date, starting price and estimated battery range, later.
Farley’s “bet” on increased electric vehicle production comes after President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will end a tax credit for electric vehicles to expire later this year.
*Clarification: A previous version of this story described the announced changes as "adding" jobs. This story was updated to include the latest information and details from union representatives.
