Ford temporarily suspended 9,700 union workers while it resolved supplier challenges disrupting 2024 f-150 and f-150 lightning manufacturing.
The issue caused closures at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri and the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan, lasting seven and six days, respectively. Ford has declined to identify the parts supplier behind the momentary shutdown but has confirmed that both facilities have been reopened with suspended employees back on production lines. All staff members were represented by the United Auto Workers union.
The plants primarily manufacture the F-150, the company’s most popular and profitable truck. Although the Lightning electric pickup is built elsewhere, manufacturing for the vehicle was also halted during the work stoppage due to the temporary layoffs at the Dearborn Truck Plant. The facility houses the shop where both ICE and electric F-150 variants are painted.
Ford recently slashed production targets for the F-150 Lightning due to slower-than-expected sales. While the automaker presently leads the electric pickup sub-segment, it continues to fall far behind the EV market’s dominant player, Tesla. The company sold roughly 2 million hybrid, ICE, and electrified units in 2023, up 7.1% from the year before. More than 700,000 of these sales were represented by the brand’s F-Series pickups, of which only 20,365 were battery-powered. Nevertheless, the number of Lightning sales was 53% higher last year than in 2022.
