Ford makes way for $2B venture by laying off 1,600 Kentucky plant workers. Could this move soon impact utility bills?

Amid taking a $19.5 cardinal hit, chiefly tied to its sinking electric-vehicle (EV) business, connected Dec. 15, car elephantine Ford (F:NYSE), successful summation to refocusing connected manufacturing gas-powered and hybrid vehicles, announced a caller task into the vigor retention business. (1)

Part of the caller strategy involves repurposing an EV artillery works successful Glendale, Kentucky, resulting successful sweeping layoffs. According to section media, astir 1,600 workers volition suffer their jobs during the modulation — though they volition person an accidental to assertion 1 of the 2,100 jobs the institution has committed to bringing to the plant. (2)

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Ford says it’s investing $2 cardinal successful the venture, which includes retooling the works to make artillery vigor retention systems for utilities and information centers that bid artificial quality (AI). It hopes to person the works backmost up and moving successful 18 months.

“Instead of plowing billions into the aboriginal knowing these ample EVs volition ne'er marque money, we are pivoting,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told The Wall Street Journal. (3)

So, however mightiness a displacement similar this impact household vigor bills?

After the national $7,500 EV recognition was eliminated nether President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” request for EVs cratered crossed the country. U.S. income fell much than 41% successful November, according to Reuters, pursuing the credit’s expiration astatine the extremity of September. (4)

But the marketplace for batteries isn’t dying retired completely. There’s a booming request for vigor solutions arsenic AI information centers person created an insatiable request for electricity. As AI usage grows, the request for energy is expected to turn alongside it.

As of 2023, information centers consumed astir 4.4% of full U.S. electricity. The Department of Energy expects this request to grow, projecting that information centers volition devour 6.7% to 12% of full U.S. energy by 2028.

Ford’s determination to put billions of dollars into the artillery retention manufacture follows signs of imaginable maturation successful the vigor sector. Data centers and inferior companies whitethorn soon find themselves successful request of much artillery retention systems, and Ford is trying to capable immoderate of that demand.