(NewsInsights.org) – Auto manufacturer Ford has made costly and significant changes to its production lines over the years to accommodate electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. The company has responded to the Biden administration’s agenda, regulations, and incentives to meet a goal of converting half of all new car sales to EVs by 2030. Yet, the manufacturer recently announced it was reducing production of the F-150 Lightning, the EV model Biden test-drove in May 2021 to promote EVs to America.
In a January 19 news release, Ford announced that while it was gearing up production on its Bronco and Ranger lines, adding a third shift representing almost 900 new jobs, it would be cutting back on the production of the F-!50 Lightning. The company said customer demand remained lower than initially anticipated but pointed to the 55% increase in sales last year, with the highest sales in November 2023.
F-150 Lightning sales for 2023 totaled somewhere near 21,000 units, while the company had geared manufacturing to produce 3,200 trucks per week or roughly 160,000 units per year. In December, media outlets initially announced Ford’s plan to reduce the product line output to commensurate with customer demand, still allowing for growth. The company set the revised production number at 1600 trucks per week.
Ford announced that it expects continued growth in the EV sector, including for its F-150 Lightning trucks, but industry analysts cited the price differential between gas-powered and EV vehicles, even with tax incentives, and continued high interest rates, a consequence of inflation, as two of the reasons consumers haven’t rushed to purchase the vehicles. Additionally, infrastructure issues surrounding charging stations have discouraged some buyers.
The reduction in capacity could affect as many as 1400 Ford employees at the company’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in the Dearborn, Michigan, area. The plant will move to a single shift, and the company plans to transfer approximately 700 employees to its Michigan Assembly Plant located in Wayne to work on the burgeoning Bronco and Ranger vehicle lines.
The company will absorb most remaining employees into the Rouge facility or others around Southeast Michigan. Ford also announced that some employees might opt to use the Special Retirement Incentive Program the company agreed to in its 2023 contract with the United Auto Workers.
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