Ford cuts F-150 Lightning EV production, adds to Bronco, Ranger plant

Detroit – Ford The automaker said Friday it is increasing production of the Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup truck while cutting production of the all-electric F-150 Lightning.

Ford said the production changes are aimed at aligning production with customer demand. They mark the latest cuts or delays in electric vehicle production due to slower-than-expected customer demand.

“We are leveraging manufacturing flexibility to provide customers with choice while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling electric pickup truck,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a press release. “We see a bright future for electric vehicles for select consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced electric vehicles and products that will use Tesla’s charging network starting this quarter.”

The announcement of the cut in F-150 Lightning production comes a month after CNBC and other outlets reported that Ford will cut planned production of the pickup truck by about half this year, marking the end of the automaker’s plans to significantly increase electric vehicle factory capacity through 2023. major reversal.

The automaker will reduce Lightning production at its electric vehicle center in Rouge, Michigan, from two shifts to one, affecting about 1,400 employees. The cuts will take effect on April 1.

Ford declined to specify how the canceled production shifts will affect vehicle output.

Ford said about half of the affected employees will be moved to nearby plants, including the Michigan assembly plant where the Bronco and Ranger are built. Others are expected to participate in a “special retirement incentive plan” agreed to in the 2023 Ford-UAW contract, the company said.

Ford said its Michigan assembly plant will add a third shift this summer to increase production of the Bronco and Ranger. The company plans to add 900 jobs at the plant.