Ford preps restart of F-150 Lightning: When Rouge, Rawsonville workers will return
While the five-week shutdown of the F-150 Lightning plant in Dearborn has dominated headlines, workers at the Ford Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti who assemble the Lightning battery packs have been directly impacted, too.
In early February, a battery fire in a Lightning parked in a holding lot in Dearborn led to the factory shutdown and a stop delivery order. Ford and its battery supplier SK On have, since then, investigated the problem and identified the root cause of the issue, Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake told the Free Press last month.
"We agree with SK’s recommended changes in their equipment and processes for SK’s cell production lines. SK has started building battery cells again in Commerce, Georgia. It will take SK time to ensure they are back to building high-quality cells," she said.
Ford declined to specify the root cause of the issue.
Production of the electric pickup is "on track to restart" Monday, returning life to normal for the 750 people who work at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Plant, including 700 hourly employees, Ford spokeswoman Emma Bergg told the Free Press on Tuesday. These workers have been on layoff during the production stoppage; those with at least one year of seniority get paid about 75% of their pretax pay during this period.
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Meanwhile, the Rawsonville production line, which has been operating with a skeleton crew since Lightning production was disrupted, will return its 70 or so hourly workers in stages, said Ford spokeswoman Emma Bergg.
A spokesperson for the UAW did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the situation.
About 25% of the Rawsonville group is working now, and that will ramp up to an estimated 50% next week, Bergg said. A series of factors will influence the work schedule, ranging from flow of trucks to battery cell production coming from SK On, Bergg said.
A number of battery packs have already been assembled by UAW members and await installation starting Monday, she said. Overall, the logistics of coordinating multiple sites create challenges that require flexibility, Bergg said.
Trucks play a key role in Ford profits, with the F-Series being the top revenue generator. Ford released an economic analysis in 2020 from the Boston Consulting that showed Ford F-150 pickup trucks with its family of Super Duty siblings are second only to the iPhone when it comes to branded consumer product sales.
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Prior to the Lightning battery fire, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company has been working to increase production capabilities of the Lightning and other vehicles. Early this month, Ford issued a news release saying it's targeting a run rate of 150,000 Lightning trucks annually in 2023.
The starting price of the electric pickup is about $57,000 plus delivery fees. Prices can hover around $98,000. A backlog of reservations and orders remain.
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Read more about Ford. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford F-150 Lightning production restart: When workers will return
