Ford will idle production of the F-150 Lightning for the last seven weeks of 2024 due to low demand.
Automotive News has learned that manufacturing of the electric pickup will stop at Dearborn’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center on November 15th and restart on January 6th. It’s not known how the temporary shutdown will impact workers, but the publication claims about 800 workers are affected.
A Ford spokesperson has confirmed the move, saying that the automaker will “continue to adjust production” of the F-150 Lightning to achieve the right blend of profitability and sales.
The idling comes several months after Ford slashed its workforce at the Dearborn plant by two thirds as part of a broader move to lower EV production targets. This isn’t the first time Ford has limited Lightning manufacturing, either. In fall 2023, it dropped one of three shifts to account for low sales and supply chain problems.
Ford said in August that it would rethink its EV strategy as its Model E division continued to post losses. It pushed back the launch of a full-size electric pickup to 2027, and has shifted its overall attention toward hybrids.
The brand is still committed to EVs and has shown signs of a turnaround. In Q3 2024, it saw Model E’s losses shrink by $500 million year-over-year to a steep but more reasonable $1.2 billion. It also believed that EVs would get substantially cheaper, to the point where an upcoming model would cost as little as a BYD car produced in Mexico.
For now, though, it’s clear that Ford’s existing North American options, including the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, haven’t done much to unseat the competition. Its domestic rivals GM and Tesla are faring considerably better.