FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Ford Motor Company, already a large employer in Kentucky, will be hiring even more in the future, as the company announced Monday evening it is building two facilities in Hardin County to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, creating 5,000 new jobs.
Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation will build two electric battery plants in the BlueOvalSK Battery Park in Hardin County, investing a record $5.8 billion. With this announcement, Kentucky shatters every annual economic development record in the books for yearly investment totals and is on pace for its best job-creating year in history.
Kentucky workers at BlueOvalSK Battery Park will supply Ford’s North American assembly plants with batteries that will power the next generation of Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. Production of the advance lithium-ion batteries will begin in 2025.
The plants will be built on a 1,551-acre site near I-65 in Glendale, and state officials say they believe it will make Kentucky the nation’s largest producer of electric automotive batteries.
Gov. Andy Beshear, Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford, CEO Jim Farley and Dong-Seob Jee, president of SK Innovation’s battery business, will join Kentucky leaders to unveil more about the historic project at 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday at the State Capitol in Frankfort. Executive leaders from Ford and SK Innovation, as well as state and local leaders, will attend the announcement.
“This is the single-largest investment in the history of our state,” said Gov. Beshear, “and this project solidifies our leadership role in the future of the automotive manufacturing industry. It will transform our economy, creating a better Kentucky with more opportunities for our families for generations. Our economy is on fire – and now, it’s electric. Never again will we be thought of as a flyover state. Our time is now. Our future is now.”
“Ford is very excited to make this historic investment in the great state of Kentucky,” said Lisa Drake, Ford North America chief operating officer. “Kentucky has been an incredible partner to Ford for more than 100 years and is home to Louisville Assembly Plant and Kentucky Truck Plant. With this announcement, Kentucky will play an essential role as Ford fulfills its commitment to lead the electric vehicle revolution and create thousands of jobs in the Commonwealth; and we look forward to working with Kentuckians to create the future together.”
The $5.8 billion investment is more than triple the previous largest single investment announced in Kentucky. The 5,000 full-time jobs at the plants does not include construction, supplier or dealership jobs, is more than twice the number of any previous such announcement in the state.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the two plants in Kentucky and another in Tennessee will be part of an $11.4 billion investment in electric vehicle manufacturing that will create 11,000 new jobs. Production at the Kentucky plants is expected to begin in 2025.
“I applaud Ford for their decision to bring their new battery plants to Hardin County, which will provide a much-needed economic boost to the region and create thousands of well-paying Kentucky jobs,” McConnell said. “With Ford’s commitment, we have further solidified our role as a world-class automotive state on the cutting edge of research and development.”
At the Glendale site, Kentucky and its partners will shift from the traditional automobile to the electric vehicle of the future. Ford expects at least 40% of its global sales to be electric vehicles by 2030, and the batteries made in Kentucky will help power that transition.
Currently, the Louisville Assembly Plant and Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville directly employ about 13,000 workers with thousands more working for suppliers and dealerships.
Kentucky workers assemble the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair at the Louisville Assembly Plant, which opened in 1955, and they assemble Ford Super Duty Trucks, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator at the Kentucky Truck Plant, which opened in 1969.
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