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.’

For the workers suddenly out of a job, the political blame game is secondary to the immediate fallout.  ‘I’ve been homeless for years and this was supposed to be the grounding moment,’ said Derek Dougherty, 28, who had just signed a lease near the site when he learned he would be laid off.

Trump’s policies to halt the growth of the electric vehicle industry have been blamed on 1,600 job losses at a multi-billion dollar Kentucky vehicle battery plant.

‘We just started renting our apartment over here because of this job. Now that job’s not there.’

The collapse exposes a contradiction in Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda. He has repeatedly vowed to revive US manufacturing and protect blue-collar workers.

But critics say his rollback of EV incentives and environmental rules slowed demand just as billions were being poured into new American battery plants – leaving communities like Glendale paying the price.

During his presidency, Donald Trump weakened national vehicle emissions standards and tried to block California from setting even stricter clean-car rules – meaning there was less pressure on automakers to push EVs.

He has also vowed to scrap a federal tax credit that knocked as much as $7,500 off each EV and cut government support for charging infrastructure.

A Ford spokesperson told the Daily Mail the policy shift had significantly disrupted its  long-term strategy – and contributed to the Kentucky plant’s closure.

‘BlueOval SK was originally intended to be a long-term endeavor,’ the spokesperson said.  ‘[But] the realities of customer demand and the regulatory environment have evolved, particularly in the US.

They pointed out that, in 2023, analysts projected EVs could make up 45 percent of US auto sales by 2030. But forecasts have since been revised sharply lower – to somewhere between 9 and 18 percent.

During his presidency, Donald Trump weakened national vehicle emissions standards and sought to block California from setting more stringent clean-car rules, easing regulatory pressure on automakers to accelerate EV production

Ford Motor Company and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On partnered to establish battery plants across the US, investing $5.8 billion in a sprawling 1,500-acre facility in Glendale. Pictured, BlueOval SK CEO David Hahm

Not all workers see it purely as a political issue.

Joe Morgan left a 24-year career to take a job at the plant earning $38 an hour as a maintenance technician. He said the tax credits played some role in slowing sales, but believes Ford also overreached.

‘Taking away the tax credits did play a little bit of a role in not selling EVs,’ Morgan said. ‘But honestly, I think Ford made a bad decision when they came out with an F-150 they wanted to make all electric.’

Despite the setback, Ford says the broader BlueOval complex is not dead. A separate subsidiary battery plant at the site is expected to employ more than 2,100 workers when it opens in late 2026 or early 2027.

While the facility will still manufacture batteries, production will focus on energy storage systems for utilities, data centers, and other commercial applications.

‘BlueOval SK employees will have the opportunity to apply for jobs at the new Ford subsidiary once it begins hiring,’ the company said.

Globally, China remains the largest EV market, followed by the United States. Within the US, Tesla, Inc. commands roughly half of the EV market share.

Automakers, like many industries, are now adopting a wait-and-see posture as they assess whether Trump will follow through on proposals to rescind tax credits and impose new tariffs.

Actress Sydney Sweeney promotes the Ford Bronco in 2023. Ford has been forced to rein in its electric vehicle ambitions amid cooling demand

Most recently, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that states receiving federal funds for EV charging infrastructure would be required to install chargers made entirely with US-produced components – a significant shift from the previous 55 percent domestic-content requirement.

‘Now we’re ensuring that if Congress wants to see these chargers built, we put America First,’ Duffy said in a statement.

‘Doing so will unleash American manufacturing, protect our national security, and prevent taxpayer dollars from subsidizing our foreign adversaries.’

Industry experts, however, caution that producing chargers composed of 100 percent US-made parts may prove nearly impossible under current supply-chain conditions -potentially delivering yet another blow to the growth trajectory of the American electric vehicle sector.

On Tuesday, Ford announced its biggest annual loss since before the 2008 financial crisis, with its failed push into electric cars a key factor.

[H/T Daily Mail]