Power outage: F-150 Lightning Ford plant to go idle, leaving workers with uncertainty

DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Ford Motor Company lost $3.7 billion in its electric vehicle division just in the first nine months of the year.

While the Ford Motor Company demand has grown, it has not increased fast enough to keep the Dearborn plant that makes them, run uninterrupted.

Nearly a thousand workers at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Plant are facing a season of uncertainty on Thursday with the plant preparing to idle.

"You just have to sit back and hopefully there's a light at the end of this tunnel." said Brian Waters, a Ford autoworker.

The usually bustling Rouge Electric Vehicle Plant is gearing up for a quiet winter with  doors set to close temporarily starting November 18th.

It will impact about 730 workers leaving an air of uncertainty for employees like Waters.

"We’re in a bad situation - people got kids, people got grandkids," he said. "It’s holiday time. It’s devastating."

In a statement, Ford said its decision to pause production at the plant is part of a strategic adjustment, aiming for what they call an "Optimal mix of sales growth and profitability." The plant’s operations are set to resume in early January.

"The reality is this electric pickup, even though sales are up a lot, is not enough to keep that plant running right now," said John McElroy, Autoline.

In September the GOP-controlled House approved a resolution that would overturn a new Biden administration EPA rule on automobile emissions that Republicans call an electric vehicle mandate.

The Biden-Harris administration has a goal in 2030 to make half of all new vehicles sold in the US, electric.

"Whoever wins on Tuesday we’re probably going to see some EPA adjustments because we’re just not on track to beat them by 2032," McElroy said.