FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 27, 2022) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced 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.
“The partnership between Kentucky and Ford goes back more than a century and is only becoming stronger,” Gov. Beshear said. “Today’s announcement is one of the largest investments ever in Jefferson County and will create hundreds of great jobs, including building the 2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck. Together with last year’s record-shattering electric vehicle battery plant announcement, Ford is building its future here in the commonwealth. We couldn’t be more proud and look forward to many more decades of success for this iconic American company here in Kentucky.”
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.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer highlighted Ford’s long history as a key manufacturer in Jefferson County.
“Advanced manufacturing continues to drive significant economic growth in Louisville,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “Built upon a rich manufacturing history, Louisville has developed a strong foundation of support that allows us to meet manufacturers’ workforce and growth needs and has led manufacturing companies to invest more than $5.2 billion in our city and create more than 10,000 new jobs since 2014. We are excited to add today’s announcement to those growing numbers. Thank you to Ford for remaining committed to Louisville for nearly 110 years and continuing to invest in and grow its local operations and workforce.”
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.
One year ago today, the Beshear administration announced the largest economic development project in state history. On Sept. 27, 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. The announcement helped position Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.
Kentucky has long been a leader in automotive production as the nation’s No. 1 per-capita producer of cars, light trucks and SUVs. The commonwealth currently is home to more than 525 auto-related facilities employing 100,000 residents across the state. With today’s announcement, more than 100 automotive-related projects have been announced in Kentucky since the start of the Beshear administration, totaling over $10 billion in new investment and more than 12,000 full-time jobs.
Ford’s latest investment and planned job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before benefits, a 9.4% increase over the previous year.
The economic momentum has carried strongly into 2022, with both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings upgrading Kentucky’s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth’s surging economy.
And Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky at 6th in its annual Prosperity Cup rankings for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Kentucky has posted record low unemployment rates for four consecutive months, falling from 3.9% in April to 3.8% in May and 3.7% in June and July.
In July, the Governor reported the highest annual growth rate in 31 years. And for the second year in a row, Kentucky’s General Fund budget surplus has exceeded $1 billion. Also in July, Gov. Beshear reported that the state’s rainy day fund is up to a record balance of $2.7 billion, significantly higher than the $129 million balance the fund had when the Governor took office.
In September, Kentucky reported August 2022 General Fund receipts hit an unprecedented high for any August on record, marking 21 straight months of growing revenues for the state.
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. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
For more information on Ford, visit Corporate.Ford.com.
A detailed community profile for Jefferson County can be viewed here.
Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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