The future Ford EV plant known as BlueOval City in Tennessee is one of two that are under-construction in that general area, with the other located in Kentucky. BlueOval City will house not only an electric vehicle manufacturing plant, but also, a battery plant operated by the joint-venture BlueOval SK, which is a collaborative effort between Ford and South Korean battery maker SK On. Trial operations at that particular Ford EV plant are already underway, with full-scale production expected to begin next year. In the meantime, some local residents near the plant are asking the automaker to sign a community benefits agreement, however.
According to Commercial Appeal, a group of residents in rural West Tennessee have formed the BlueOval Good Neighbors Coalition, which wants Ford to sign a legally binding community benefits agreement as it aims to ensure that the future Ford EV plant hires locals and also prevents gentrification from occurring. “We want to make sure that the Black communities in these areas don’t have to deal with things like gentrification or redlining,” said Stanton resident Betty Watkins-Lee, whose family has lived in the area for a century. “We don’t want to be in a situation where the property becomes so expensive around here that we aren’t going to economically fit into that caliber of people that are moving into this West Tennessee area because of BlueOval.”
Residents in the area surrounding BlueOval City are concerned that the massive growth occurring around that site will drive up the costs of housing, rent, and repairs, all while many local land owners have been asked or even told that they must sell their land. As Ford Authority previously reported, some of those land owners have been offered far less than what other similar parcels have sold for. As of now, Ford hasn’t commented on this particular matter.
The addition of BlueOval City to Stanton is already having a massive impact on the surrounding area, with a number of suppliers, contractors, and others moving into the area and building homes, apartments, restaurants, and stores. However, even though the Ford EV plant will begin building batteries next year, production of the next-generation all-electric Ford F-150 was recently pushed back to 2027.
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