Ford and partner SK Innovation will build two electric battery plants, creating 5,000 Kentucky jobs, investing $5.8 billion
News Release: Gov. Andy Beshear, Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation announced the single largest economic development project in the history of the commonwealth late Monday, with an official public announcement planned for Tuesday afternoon.
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. 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 advanced lithium-ion batteries will begin in 2025.
The plants will be built on the 1,551-acre economic development site near Interstate Highway 65 in Glendale and will generate 86 gigawatt-hours, which commonwealth officials believe will make Kentucky the nation’s largest producer of electric automotive batteries.
Gov. 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 Kentucky State Capitol. Executive leaders from Ford and SK Innovation, as well as state and local leaders, will attend the announcement.
“We thank Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation for their investment in Team Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “This is the single largest investment in the history of our state, 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.”
“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,” said U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, in a separate statement. “With Ford’s commitment, we have further solidified our role as a world-class automotive state on the cutting edge of research and development. I look forward to continuing to pursue pro-business policies in Kentucky and nationwide that will allow great American companies like Ford to continue to prosper and grow our economy.”
The $5.8 billion investment is more than triple the previous largest single investment announced in Kentucky. The 5,000 announced jobs, which is the number of full-time jobs at the plants and does not include construction, supplier, or dealership jobs, and is more than twice the number of any previous announcement in the commonwealth.
At the Glendale megasite, 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.
Century-Long Partnership
The historic announcement builds on the more than century-long partnership between Kentucky and Ford.
Kentucky workers rolled a Model T off a Ford assembly line in Louisville in 1913. 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.
From direct Ford employees to suppliers and dealers, Ford helped create jobs for approximately 120,000 people in Kentucky – not including the jobs coming with today’s announcement.
A 2020 Economic Impact Report estimated that Ford’s gross domestic product impact in Kentucky was approximately $11.7 billion. Ford has directed more than $6.3 billion in investments and upgrades to Kentucky since 1987.
According to the Governor’s office, this year Beshear has announced over $8.7 billion in total planned investment and 11,700 full-time jobs in private sector new-location and expansion projects across the coming years. Through July, Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage was $23.47 before benefits, a 6.2% increase over the previous year.
“This is our best year ever, and it’s only September,” Gov. Beshear said.
