Ford is aiming to produce 600k EVs annually by 2024 and two million each year by 2026, though that ramp up was temporarily hindered by a battery issue discovered in select units recently, which prompted The Blue Oval to stop Ford F-150 Lightning production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center temporarily. Of that 600k unit total, 150k vehicles will be Ford F-150 Lightning pickups, though as Ford Authority reported last month, the automaker plans to significantly ramp up production of that particular model, along with other in-demand vehicles. To accomplish that, Ford plans on shifting some workers from the Dearborn Truck plant over to the Rouge facility next door, according to the Detroit Free Press.
According to this new report, Ford plans on moving a total of 800 workers from the Dearborn plant to the Rouge this summer, who will help in the automaker’s efforts to reach that 150k unit mark. “We will also hire an additional 300 new (hourly) employees at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center as we scale toward max production,” said Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker. To complete this expansion, Ford also plans on shutting the Rouge plant down from June 19th-July 31st as it completes its latest expansion.
“With the new staffing plan, Ford will have about 1,800 employees building the F-150 Lightning on three crews,” Felker said. “At the same time, we’ll build gas-powered F-150s with 2,600 employees on two shifts at Dearborn Truck plant and 2,800 people on three crews at the Kansas City Assembly plant. This will give Ford maximum overall production and flexibility to meet high demand for America’s best-selling truck, gas and electric.”
Accordion to Felker, building the ICE F-150 in Kansas City gives the automaker the flexibility it needs to keep up with demand while also ramping up F-150 Lightning production in a significant manner. “The day it opened it was too small, literally it was,” said Bernie Ricke, president of UAW Local 600 in Detroit, which represents workers at the Rouge plant. “This expansion is good for the workforce, the surrounding community, the company, everybody.”
We’ll have more on the F-150 Lightning soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, F-150 Lightning news, and non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
A big article was released on MSN today talking about how Lightning sales are in the gutter. The article states Ford states a “4% increase”…but they don’t tell you it is against an already low number. Americans aren’t interested in EVs on any significant scale, EVs are busted.