Ford: Kentucky EV battery plant closes, pivoting to battery storage and busting union

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Layoff scale: ~1,600

Battery plant shutting down and being retooled to re-open in 2027

Expected Cause

→ EV policy reversals
→ Low projected demand
→ Tariffs

Layoff begins: February 2026

News reporting: A Kentucky town bet big on Ford’s EV strategy. Then the battery plant closed

The BlueOval SK EV battery plant is closing, as the joint venture between Ford and SK dissolves, leaving 1,600 Kentucky workers without jobs. Ford is reinvesting $2 billion into the plant to convert it to a battery storage manufacturing plant for utilities and data centers, promising to employ 2,100, but only expecting to re-open in 2027. The change comes following national EV policy reversals under the Trump administration and low projected demand for EVs, as data center build out driven by AI speculation picks up across the country. This announced shift comes just months after workers narrowly voted to unionize with UAW, but not before Ford challenged the election with the NLRB. The shift in ownership and job focus puts the unionization status at risk.

BlueOval SK plant in Glendale, Kentucky before its closure
BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky on October 22, 2025 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

More Details

  • BlueOval SK plant in Glendale, KY
  • In 2021, Ford announced a $6 billion investment in the BlueOval SK battery facility.
  • During construction, workers organized against mold-related health and safety concerns in the plant.
  • In August 2025, workers narrowly voted to join the UAW by 11 votes, but the company is union busting and contesting 41 challenged ballots, bringing a case to the NLRB.
  • In December 2025, Ford and South Korea-based SK announced they are ending their U.S. battery-making joint venture.
  • In January 2026, the NLRB ruled in favor of recognizing the union.
  • The layoffs are expected to start on or around Feb. 14 and conclude “at that time or shortly thereafter,” according to the WARN notice.
  • On February 11, 2026, BOSK workers delivered a petition with 1000 signatories demanding that Ford recognize the union and meet with workers to negotiate over the future of the site
  • BlueOval SK: EV battery equipment being removed and replaced with battery storage manufacturing equipment
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