Ford Motor Co. announced Monday it and a South Korean partner will build three battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee, adding 10,800 jobs, to bolster its planned future electric car manufacturing, the Associated Press reports.
The manufacturing operation is the single largest manufacturing commitment in the United States Ford has ever announced in its 118 year history. With SK Innovation of South Korea, Ford will spend more than $11 billion total. The Stanton, Tennessee facility will make an electric F150 pickup. A joint venture known as BlueOvalSK will build battery factories in Glendale, Kentucky and Stanton.
Ford will not commit to having the factories be union shops, with CEO Jim Farley saying, “We love our UAW partners,” Farley said. “They’ve been incredible on this journey of electrification so far. But it’s up to the employees to decide.”