Ford missed the mark with battery production (2 photos)

Pictured is Ford's $5.8 billion battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky, which is idle just four months after opening, with 1,600 workers already laid off.

What happened?





The plant was designed to produce batteries for electric vehicles, but Ford is refocusing on energy storage systems for utilities and data centers.

Ford cited slowing demand for electric vehicles and changing regulations. Forecasts that electric vehicles would account for 45% of total US vehicle sales by 2030 have been revised downwards to 9-18%. The governor of Kentucky blamed changes in federal policy for declining consumer interest just as billions of dollars were being invested in domestic battery factories.

So, the massive electric vehicle battery factory was no longer needed by the time construction was completed.

Now there's a chance to convert the facility to produce energy storage systems for AI data centers. This is planned for the end of 2026, creating 2,100 jobs. That's assuming, of course, all this AI hysteria hasn't died down by then.