Why Ford Is Cutting Back Production Of The F-150 Lightning
Recently, American automaker Ford announced that it will reduce the weekly production of the F-150 Lightning due to a slower-than-expected demand in the market. Instead, it will shift its focus to meeting demands for other popular models, such as the Bronco and the Ranger.
Throughout 14 generations, the F-150 proved to be Ford's best-selling vehicle, with over 40 million units sold across the world. In 2024, the Ford F-150 will be celebrating the 48th year in a row as America's favorite pickup truck. Ford's all-electric iteration of this popular truck, the F-150 Lightning, grabbed a lot of attention in North America as a reliable and powerful EV.
The demand for electric vehicles has been following an increasing trend in the past few years. According to Reuters, electric cars had a 31% increase in sales across the globe. The F-150 Lightning had an even more dramatic increase in sales. With over 20,000 units sold in 2023, Ford reported that the F-150 Lightning had a 55% increase in demand compared to 2022. However, Ford's expectations regarding their electric truck market demand in 2024 were too high.
Ford will transition from two production shifts to one for the F-150 Lightning
Ford stated that they expect continued growth in global sales in 2024, though less than what they had initially predicted. Because of this, Ford is planning to reduce production of their electric truck. From April 1, Rouge Electric Vehicle Center — the Michigan plant that builds the F-150 Lightning — will switch from two production shifts to one.
Ford didn't directly mention how much it is planning to cut the production of the F-150 Lightning. However, the Rogue Electric Vehicle Center moving from two shifts to one implies that the production will also witness a roughly 50% reduction. On the other hand, Ford stated that they have the capacity to scale up production of gas-powered and hybrid F-150 trucks to keep a balance and meet customer demands.
Other reports also indicate that Ford is preparing to halve the number of F-150 Lightning it manufactures in 2024. Per CNBC, Ford's initial plan was to produce 3,200 F-150 Lightnings per week. However, production numbers will be reduced to 1,600 units in a week.
This is while Ford had a tough time keeping up with high demands from customers, to the point that it had to temporarily cease new orders in 2023. Things got even worse after two separate production shutdowns in February and June of 2023.
Roughly 1,400 Ford employees will be affected by this decision
Ford says that approximately 1,400 employees will be impacted because of this transition. Ford plans to transfer roughly half of those workers to its Michigan Assembly Plant to put together a third crew to increase production of its Bronco models and their popular mid-size truck, the Ranger. Ford will also hire another 900 employees to fill that shift. Now with three crews, the Michigan Assembly Plant will transition to producing vehicles seven days a week versus five currently.
The rest of the workers will transfer to different roles at the Rouge plant or Ford's other facilities within the same region. Also, Ford stated that workers can take advantage of the Special Retirement Incentive Program agreed to in the 2023 Ford-UAW contract.
"We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America's best-selling EV pickup," said Jim Farley, Ford President and CEO. "We see a bright future for electric vehicles for specific consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced EVs and access to Tesla's charging network beginning this quarter."