With the stroke of a pen, the states of Kentucky and Tennessee just hit the jackpot with the latest announcement from Ford on Monday, September 27 that they are choosing these two Southern states for their new electric vehicle (EV) plant locations.
The announcement by Ford and their CEO was published on their corporate website this week.
Jim Farley, Ford's President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), proudly spoke of this move by the company this week: "We are moving now to deliver breakthrough electric vehicles for the many rather than the few," said Farley, "This is our moment—our biggest investment ever—to build a better future for Americans."
Ford announced on Monday their plan to bring electric zero-emission vehicles at scale to American customers with the largest, most advanced auto production complex they have ever proposed and developed.
Deemed "Blue Oval City" by Ford executives, one of the four complexes will be constructed on a nearly 6-square-mile site in west Tennessee and build next-generation electric F-Series pickups and advanced batteries.
This decision by Ford will create 11,000 high quality, full-time jobs for Americans in the South.
These new Ford factories are creating jobs in a much needed time. Employees in Kentucky and Tennessee will be equipped to produce EV batteries for the next generation of Ford (and Lincoln) electric vehicles. Combined, they mark the biggest manufacturing investment that Ford has ever made, and these new facilities rank among the largest factory outlays on Earth.
Not only will these new factories create new jobs, but the vast majority will be full-time, quality jobs; almost all of which will be paying livable hourly or salary wages for the region.
Three battery plants and a truck factory will add 11,000 new jobs to the states through Ford's business partnership with SK Innovation, with their combined investment totaling over $11.4 Billion US Dollars; which is the largest in the history of the 118-year-old auto company.