Ford boosts Bronco, Ranger production; dials back Lightning

Ford announced early Friday that it will be adjusting production targets for 2024 in order to crank out more midsize trucks and SUVs. The company simultaneously announced that it would dial back F-150 Lightning production in order to better match existing (read: softer) demand. The former will be accomplished by adding a third shift (and 900 new jobs) to the company’s Michigan Assembly facility in Wayne, Mich.

This is bad news for employees of Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, where the Lightning is assembled, but not quite as bad as it looks at first blush. Approximately 1,400 jobs will be impacted, but Ford will shift approximately 700 employees from Rouge to Michigan Assembly (a move of about 15 miles) to help bolster Bronco and Ranger output, while others will be reallocated to other regional facilities. At Michigan Assembly, the new shift will comprise 1,600 jobs; the remaining 900 will be new hires. 

Ford says “a few dozen” employees at various suppliers supporting the Lightning could be laid off as well if they did not apply for a position elsewhere in the region when the announcement was made internally. 

While Ford says it still expects 2024 sales of the F-150 Lightning to increase vs. 2023, it does not foresee the same explosive growth in electric vehicles that was seen during the pandemic. 

“We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability. Customers love the F-150 Lightning, America’s best-selling EV pickup,” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said in the announcement. “We see a bright future for electric vehicles for specific consumers, especially with our upcoming digitally advanced EVs and access to Tesla’s charging network beginning this quarter.”

Ford sold a tick over 24,000 F-150 Lightnings last year; meanwhile, the Bronco and Ranger together combined for more than 135,000.