As Ford Authority reported earlier today, a new report recently surfaced indicating that there are a variety of safety concerns at the under-construction EV plant owned by a joint-venture between Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On, known as BlueOvalSK. That plant – BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Kentucky – faced its fair share of mold issues in early 2024, but now, some workers are claiming that they’ve faced a number of additional safety concerns and even injuries in some cases due to those issues – with at least one alleging they were terminated for expressing concerns. Now, investors are taking note of these and other issues, too.
According to the Tennessee Lookout, a group of 14 Ford investors sent a letter to the company’s board earlier this month asking the automaker to address issues such as alleged union-busting activity at BlueOvalSK Battery Park, as well as a “lack of engagement” with black communities surrounding the BlueOval City site in Tennessee. BlueOvalSK is a separate entity from Ford Motor Company, but the letter cited the “significant leverage and influence Ford has over this joint venture,” calling on The Blue Oval to “expeditiously address these serious concerns.”
Back in March, one of those investors – Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace – asked Ford to remain neutral in regard to unionization efforts at its EV plants, and requested that it negotiate with the BlueOval Good Neighbors Coalition, which wants FoMoCo to sign a legally binding community benefits agreement as it aims to ensure that the future plant hires locals and also prevents gentrification from occurring. That group issued a list of demands to the automaker, but the company responded by creating a Good Neighbor Plan to address some of its concerns instead.
Meanwhile, workers at the BlueOvalSK plant have expressed concerns over lingering mold, along with a bat infestation at the site, emergency exit doors that are blocked, chemical exposure, and respiratory issues that have led to some workers winding up in the hospital. Some workers have expressed concerns that they will lose their jobs if they speak up about these issues – and at least one claims that they have already – but BlueOvalSK has thus far denied these allegations.
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