By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
The future of the two Glendale battery factories is uncertain after the international partnership running them split up.
Earlier in December, the South Korean Company, SK On, announced that it would be ending the partnership with the Ford Motor Company and would be taking full control of the battery plant in Tennessee with Ford taking over sole ownership of the two factories in Glendale. The factory partnership was announced by Governor Andy Beshear in 2021 along with the $5.8 billion investment that came with it.
“BlueOval SK is aware of SK On’s disclosure and announcement,” BlueOval SK External Affairs Director Keli McAlister said in a written statement. “We are working with both of our parent companies to determine what this means for BlueOval SK.”
In July 2023, BlueOval SK joined Barren Inc. Membership Services Specialist Cathy Botts said they are still a chamber member.
Along with the $5.8 billion investment, the factories also planned to employ 5,000 people, which Planning Director of the Joint City-County Planning Commission Kevin Myatt previously said could mean workers could opt to live in Barren County.
Luke Schmidt previously told Glasgow News 1 that the primary spillover for Barren County would come from supplier plants that serve the EV battery industry. He is the Founder and President of Schmidt and Associates, which provided information on the plants’s economic impact on counties near Glendale.
The first battery rolled off the assembly line at plant on Aug. 19, 2025.
Kentucky 2, the second battery plant in Glendale, was indefinitely paused in 2024, according to outside information.
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