LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ford Motor Co., which has produced motor vehicles in the commonwealth for 109 years, will expand its presence in Louisville with a $700 million investment creating 500 full-time jobs as the company prepares to produce the all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty truck.
Gov. Beshear proclaimed today to be “KenTRUCKy Day” in the commonwealth in honor of Ford’s investment in Kentucky and tonight’s reveal of the all-new F-Series Super Duty truck at Churchill Downs.
Ford is the largest vehicle producer in the Bluegrass State and one of the largest employers in Kentucky, with more than 12,000 people working across two assembly plants in Louisville.
“Ford is America’s No. 1 employer of hourly autoworkers, and our workforce in Kentucky makes some of the country’s most popular vehicles, including the F-Series Super Duty for both retail and Ford Pro commercial customers,” said Kumar Galhotra, president, Ford Blue. “Ford has been growing in Kentucky since the days of the Model T, and we are continuing to invest in the Bluegrass State to produce great vehicles that our customers love and depend on.”
Ford is the top assembler of vehicles in America and the F-Series pickup franchise alone generated nearly $40 billion in revenue last year.
“UAW Local 862 members are proud to be a part of the F-Series Super Duty’s success both today and tomorrow,” said UAW President Ray Curry. “We celebrate this $700 million investment into Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, as it shows that UAW members continue to play an important role in Ford’s future.”
“This investment recognizes that UAW members bring quality, skills and experience to their jobs every day and that Ford counts on them to build their future business,” added Chuck Browning, UAW vice president and director of the Ford department. “Our members put Kentucky on the map when it comes to auto manufacturing, and that imprint will only grow larger.”
With more than 12,000 people employed in Kentucky, Ford supports nearly 120,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state and a state GDP contribution of $11.8 billion.
Ford, America’s truck leader, is celebrating 45 years of F-Series as the best-selling pickup in America and the 25th anniversary of Super Duty with the all-new 2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty. The next-generation Super Duty takes America’s most trusted heavy-duty truck to the next level with unprecedented levels of work capability, ingenious new technology and a suite of cloud-based services for new levels of productivity. It will be revealed today at 7:15 p.m. EDT at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.
The Ford F-Series Super Duty is proudly built at Kentucky Truck Plant alongside the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator in Louisville, Kentucky, while the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair are built at the nearby Louisville Assembly Plant.
To encourage investment and job retention in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) on Tuesday approved a supplemental project to an existing Kentucky Jobs Retention Act (KJRA) program agreement with the company. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $430 million in cumulative tax incentives based on the company’s total cumulative investment of $3.65 billion across the original and supplemental KJRA projects with an annual job target requirement of up to 12,500 over the term of the agreement.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates by claiming eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, Ford can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. These include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
Click here for more Kentucky business news.
