According to reports, Ford Motor is building a battery factory in Michigan to reduce investment, production capacity, and recruitment plans as the company believes demand for electric vehicles will weaken.
Ford stated that the company is scaling back its initial plan to invest $3.5 billion to expand the "Blue Oval Battery Park" in Michigan to a scale sufficient to produce 35 gigawatt hours of batteries annually and employ approximately 2500 employees.
Now, Ford plans to reduce the production capacity of the Michigan battery factory to 20 gigawatts per hour and reduce the number of employees to 1700.
Ford spokesperson Mark Truby also stated that Ford's capital investment will also decrease, but did not provide a specific number. He stated that the total investment will be directly proportional to a 40% reduction in production capacity. This indicates that the new target amount is approximately $2 billion.
Ford stated in October last year that compared to its previous plan, it will reduce its investment in electric vehicles by $12 billion in the future. The company had previously postponed the construction of a battery plant in Kentucky and Türkiye. However, the company stated that it will restart the construction of a factory located near Marshall, Michigan, which was suspended two months ago.
Coincidentally, as rising interest rates have slowed down demand growth, rival General Motors has also slowed down its investment in new electric vehicle production capacity in North America. General Motors announced on Tuesday that it will hold a conference call on November 29th to brief investors on its prospects.
At the same time, Ford is also pushing for the approval of the US Treasury Department to produce LFP batteries at its Michigan factory, making it eligible for electric vehicle subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Truby told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday, "We have great confidence in the benefits of the IRA