An article summarized by Quartz:
Ford is investing $1 billion to build a new paint shop at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, replacing the existing facility. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the project designed to improve paint quality, production efficiency and environmental performance. The plant is Ford’s largest and highest-revenue U.S. manufacturing facility, producing F-Series Super Duty pickups, Ford Expedition SUVs and Lincoln Navigator SUVs, with a vehicle rolling off the assembly line roughly every 45 seconds.
The Kentucky Truck Plant employs more than 11,500 workers, and Ford says its overall economic impact in Kentucky exceeds $33 billion when suppliers and vendors are included. The latest investment adds to roughly $4 billion in other recent Kentucky commitments, including about $2 billion to transform the Louisville Assembly Plant for Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle Platform and another $2 billion for battery energy-storage production at Ford Energy Systems in Glendale, with production expected to begin in late 2027.
The announcement comes amid a recent dispute between Ford and the Trump administration over the automaker’s relationships with Chinese companies. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused Ford of becoming increasingly intertwined with Chinese state-backed enterprises, allegations Ford CEO Jim Farley rejected as misunderstandings and mistruths. The dispute has also exposed differing views within the administration, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the White House highlighting Ford’s domestic manufacturing investments while Duffy criticized the company’s China strategy.
