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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Ford Motor Expands Louisville, Kentucky, Plant

10/03/2022
In preparation to produce the all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty truck Ford Motor Co. will expand its operations in Louisville, Kentucky. The $700 million project is expected to create 500 jobs.

The company is the largest vehicle producer in the Bluegrass State and one of the largest employers in Kentucky, with more than 12,000 people working across two assembly plants in Louisville. The F-Series pickup franchise alone generated nearly $40 billion in revenue last year.

“Ford is America’s No. 1 employer of hourly autoworkers, and our workforce in Kentucky makes some of the country’s most popular vehicles, including the F-Series Super Duty for both retail and Ford Pro commercial customers,” said Kumar Galhotra, president, Ford Blue. “Ford has been growing in Kentucky since the days of the Model T, and we are continuing to invest in the Bluegrass State to produce great vehicles that our customers love and depend on.”

To encourage investment and job retention in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) on Tuesday approved a supplemental project to an existing Kentucky Jobs Retention Act (KJRA) program agreement with the company. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $430 million in cumulative tax incentives based on the company’s total cumulative investment of $3.65 billion across the original and supplemental KJRA projects with an annual job target requirement of up to 12,500 over the term of the agreement.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates by claiming eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

In addition, Ford can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.

“The partnership between Kentucky and Ford goes back more than a century and is only becoming stronger,” added Governor Andy Beshear. “Today’s announcement is one of the largest investments ever in Jefferson County and will create hundreds of great jobs, including building the 2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck. Together with last year’s record-shattering electric vehicle battery plant announcement, Ford is building its future here in the commonwealth. We couldn’t be more proud and look forward to many more decades of success for this iconic American company here in Kentucky.”

Kentucky has long been a leader in automotive production as the nation’s No. 1 per-capita producer of cars, light trucks and SUVs. The commonwealth currently is home to more than 525 auto-related facilities employing 100,000 residents across the state. With today’s announcement, more than 100 automotive-related projects have been announced in Kentucky since the start of the Beshear administration, totaling over $10 billion in new investment and more than 12,000 full-time jobs.

“Advanced manufacturing continues to drive significant economic growth in Louisville,” added Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “Built upon a rich manufacturing history, Louisville has developed a strong foundation of support that allows us to meet manufacturers’ workforce and growth needs and has led manufacturing companies to invest more than $5.2 billion in our city and create more than 10,000 new jobs since 2014. We are excited to add today’s announcement to those growing numbers. Thank you to Ford for remaining committed to Louisville for nearly 110 years and continuing to invest in and grow its local operations and workforce.”

The Ford F-Series Super Duty is proudly built at Kentucky Truck Plant alongside the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator in Louisville, Kentucky, while the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair are built at the nearby Louisville Assembly Plant.

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