Fury as Trump's policies 'force' giant car factory in Kentucky to shut at cost of 1,600 jobs

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-15554329/Fury-Trumps-policies-force-giant-car-factory-shut-cost-1-600-jobs.html

Four months after it opened with promises of stable, high-paying factory jobs, a $5.8 billion Ford-backed battery plant in Kentucky is sitting idle - and 1,600 workers are out of work.


Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On opened the sprawling 1,500-acre site in Glendale in summer 2025, and it was hailed as a game changer for the region.

By December, that optimism had evaporated when the companies ended their joint venture at the site. Soon after, Ford said it would idle the facility for roughly 18 months while shifting production toward energy storage systems instead of car batteries.

Ford says the slowdown in EV demand - blamed in part with changes in federal policy under President Donald Trump - upended the company’s original plans.

Kentucky’s Democratic governor Andy Beshear blamed the President.

'Those are 1,600 Kentuckians that lost their jobs solely because of Donald Trump pushing that big, ugly bill, eliminating the credits that had people interested and excited to buy EVs,' Beshear told the New York Times.

'I bet many, if not most, of them voted for him, and he basically fired them.'

[Skittles]

1. if they voted for him, FUCK THEM

ZERO fucking sympathy

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

3. Omg..the hearts are gone. 😢 😭

[Skittles]

10. yes, it is a limited time

here ya go

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

15. I get accustomed to them. Then boom gone. Lol. Thank you

[dweller]

2. ETTD

✌🏻

[Initech]

4. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

You wanted the fucking asshole in charge, you get everything that comes with him. Don't say we didn't warn you. Now bow your head and say "d'oh".

[Skittles]

11. "we didn't vote for this"

yes you did, YES YOU FUCKING DID

[czarjak]

5. What did they have to lose?

At least they owned The Libs!

[Permanut]

9. Well, it worked..

I'm sure feeling owned.

[BaronChocula]

6. "Well, ya know, SHE would have been worse."

"I mean, I'd still have a job, but ummm, she would have been worse."

[Bayard]

7. The plant is being converted to produce battery energy storage systems,

Which will employ over 2,000 people. The 1,600 were laid off, not fired, and could be brought back once the factory is retooled.

My understanding is that many of the 1,600 were not from Kentucky, and the contractors were from all over the place. The plant is down the road from us. A whole bunch of the farm land surrounding the plant, (which was also built on farm land,) was bought up and being developed for residentiall projects to accomodate new employees. Land prices skyrocketed around here.

I guess what I'm saying is that this isn't a case of stupid Kentucky MAGAts getting what they voted for necessarily.

[modrepub]

12. Gotta Wonder

First, who’s going to be able to hang around 18 months until work starts back up, if work starts back up at all?

Second, how many of these jobs actually pay living wages? You’d be surprised how many manufacturing jobs pay just above minimum wage.

Third, how much state and local governments subsidized the building of these new plants and now have no taxes (from worker salaries) to show for it. Guessing local governments invested a lot of resources into this that they’re stuck financing for without any real taxes coming in. Same goes for local businesses that anticipated a boost for plant workers buy local stuff.

I don’t expect any M$M breakdown of these now stranded costs.

[Bayard]

18. I have no doubt it will restart

This was a Ford project. They pay very well, and have great benefits. My brother and his FIL worked for them in Louisville.

Yes, there was a lot of investment locally, including real estate and new roads. I don't know the status of those.

I put this all squarely on trump. I wouldn't be surprised to find it was just to punish Gov. Beshear, who worked really hard to bring this business to KY.

[Martin Eden]

13. Neverthess, those EV battery jobs were lost

That plant in Kentucky was repurposed, which was fortunate for that community. However, the need for a battery storage plant existed, and a plant for it would have been built elsewhere. The end result is one plant, instead of two -- a net loss for American workers and our economy, directly traceable to Trump’s stupid crusade against renewable energy solutions.

The developed world, including China, is moving towards EVs and multiple new technologies & solutions in an effort to forestall the effects of catastrophic climate change. The election of the orange shitweasel and his congressional majority is going to hurt American workers on this issue.

Of course, that's just one of many facets of FAFO that will hit the fools who voted for him. And the rest of us as well.

[sheshe2]

8. Hey Kentucky!

You get what you vote for.

[maxsolomon]

14. NYT's article said that the employees were blaming Ford not MFer

Last edited Mon Feb 16, 2026, 03:46 PM - Edit history (1)

When the leopards come for their faces, MAGAs just double down.

[Greg_In_SF]

16. Well, the Mach E

and Lightning pickup truck were absolute disasters for Ford. They've lost around $50 Billion because of them.

[maxsolomon]

17. Lots of Mach Es and a few Lightnings around my house

But I live in Seattle, which is Electric Vehicle Central...

[Greg_In_SF]

20. F150 Lightning sales

were so bad that they don't even make it anymore. Instead of designing an electric truck from the ground up, they tried to take the existing F150 and make it electric. Big mistake. Towing a trailer weighing just 2/3rds of what Ford says the Lightning is capable of towing gives you a range of less than 100 miles. No one wants a truck that can't even go 100 miles.

Mach E sales are even worse. Mach E's are piled up at dealers and they cannot sell them. They have discounted them massively many times and they now lease for less than Hyundais.

I honestly can't remember when I last saw a Lightning or Mach E on the road. I didn't see many when I lived in San Francisco either.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

22. A 100 mile range is crazy

[edhopper]

19. The did it to themselves

Trump Harris
1,337,494 704,04
64.47% 33.94%

2024 election in Kentucky.

Maybe they will figure it out, or maybe they will continue to want to suffer.

Their choice. I can't shed a tear.

[Melon]

23. Car makers are losing their asses on EV

I had a Tesla. Great around town with a charger at home. Long distance was horrible. Cost more to keep charged away from your house than gas plus horribly inconvenient.