Ford cuts production of F-150 Lightning EV in half, sends employees to work on gas-fueled Bronco and Ranger

Ford is cutting jobs for its production of electric F-150 Lightning and transferring manpower to a different production facility to produce gas-powered vehicles.

The announcement initially came in December 2023, with the company massively falling short of its plan to produce 150,000 electric trucks per year.

Despite the sales of the EV truck skyrocketing by 55%, that only amounted to 24,000 sold.

The latest cuts are due to the low customer demand, and they have slashed production roughly in half. Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan has whittled its typical two production shifts for the F-150 Lightning down to one, CNBC reported.

The move impacts approximately 1,400 employees, with the reduction beginning on April 1, 2024. Ford announced that 700 of the affected workers will transfer to the Michigan Assembly Plant where the Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger are produced.

The automaker also noted that a third shift will be implemented at the Michigan plant in summer 2024, adding another batch of 900 jobs to make a 1,600-person crew. The increased production staff is to work on a new Ranger and Ranger Raptor set for a 2024 release window.

"We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling EV pickup," Ford CEO Jim Farley claimed, despite the model's poor performance.

"We see a bright future for electric vehicles for specific consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced EVs and access to Tesla’s charging network beginning this quarter," he added.

The Ford Bronco and Ranger suffered a slump in sales of 9.7% and 43.3% respectively in 2023 with a large impact felt from the United Auto Workers labor strike that impacted the nation.

Remaining outcasts from the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center are to be transferred to other nearby plants or will participate in a "Special Retirement Incentive Program," which was a part of the new UAW contract.

UAW president Shawn Fain called the new deal with Ford a "major victory" for the union's "stand up strike" strategy, which also included a 25% general wage increase. Additionally, the automaker's starting wage will increase by about 68% and its top wage by roughly 33%.

The strike lasted nearly six weeks and saw significant influence from high-ranking politicians such as Senator Josh Hawley, Senator John Fetterman, and President Donald Trump.

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