By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern
Gov. Andy Beshear announced Kentucky had come to a new agreement with Ford Motor Company after the company said in December it would convert a Hardin County plant from making batteries for electric vehicles to making batteries for a new energy storage business.
Beshear, a Democrat, said in his weekly press conference Thursday that his administration had worked with Ford for several weeks on the agreement regarding the plant in Glendale. Ford will “assume all the obligations under the original transaction” and plans to make a new $2 billion investment in the facility to create 2,100 jobs, the governor said.
“Under the … loan agreement, which they took, they’re making a run at 5,000 jobs. If they don’t hit that 5,000 jobs, Kentucky will receive some of its money back in accordance to how many jobs they fall short under that loan,” Beshear said. He added the move gives Ford “a little more time.”
Ford has also agreed to work with the state on ways to support the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College training facility in Glendale, the governor continued.
“It is great news for Ford. It’s great news for Hardin County. It’s going to take a little longer to get here, but listen, when you’ve got adversity, you’ve got to work through it to get the best result you can,” Beshear said.
Previously there were to be two battery-making factories at the location in a partnership between Ford and a South Korean company, but that was shelved last year when SK On pulled out of that partnership and layoffs were announced. The pitch in 2024 was that the two factories — Kentucky 1 and 2 — would create about 5,000 jobs.
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