GLENDALE, Ky. (WDRB) -- BlueOval SK will lay off all 1,600 workers at its battery manufacturing facility in Glendale as Ford continues to scale back its electric vehicle strategy, a decision that sent shockwaves through Hardin County and raised new questions about the future of one of Kentucky's most heavily touted economic development projects.
The Glendale plant is part of BlueOval SK, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and South Korea–based battery maker SK On. The project was announced in 2021 as a cornerstone of Kentucky's push into EV manufacturing, backed by billions of dollars in private investment and hundreds of millions in state incentives. At the time, leaders promised thousands of high-paying jobs and long-term economic stability for the region.
Now, those promises feel uncertain for workers who say the layoffs came suddenly and without clear answers about timing or next steps.
Halee Hadfield, one of the the 1,600 employees out of a job, said the news has left her family facing immediate financial stress.
"I spent most of yesterday in tears, because what am I going to do?" she said. "I'm the sole income for my household. My wife is on disability. She can't work, so it's all on me."
In a recorded message to employees, BlueOval SK CEO Michael Adams confirmed the layoffs, saying the company is eliminating all Kentucky-based positions as it shifts away from EV battery production.
"Some difficult steps must be taken, including the end of all BlueOval SK positions in Kentucky," Adams said.
Adams said employees will continue receiving pay and benefits for 60 days.
"In the coming days, you'll receive an email from BOSK detailing your last day of employment," he said in the video.
Employees criticized the way the announcement was delivered, saying leadership failed to address workers in person.
"Michael Adams was a coward and couldn't tell us this to our faces," Hadfield said. "I'm really sorry — not just for myself, but for all of us. Because this was our lifeline."
The layoffs are also affecting couples and families who relocated to Hardin County specifically for the jobs. Emily Drueke and Andrew McLean, who are married, both worked at the plant.
"I cried. I'm not going to lie to you," Drueke said. "I'm completely devastated, because, for me, it's not just me losing my job. It's both of us losing our job and our future and everything that we've worked for."
McLean said he believed the plant would provide long-term security.
"I never thought this place would do this," he said. "I thought we'd have a job, have stability. And, obviously, that didn't happen."
Drueke said the timing of the layoffs erased plans they were building toward. The couple was in the process of buying their first home together.
"We don't get to enjoy Christmas," she said. "We don't get to have the future that we were working toward."
Ford said it plans to retool the Glendale facility and eventually hire 2,100 workers, though the company has not provided a timeline for when those jobs would become available or whether current employees would be prioritized.
Some workers said the damage has already been done.
"I have no desire to go work for Ford, because they screwed over everybody that works here and the entire county," Hadfield said. "And I will absolutely never buy a Ford vehicle ever."
Ford said it will take a $19.5 billion hit to profits as it pulls back from its EV business, citing slower-than-expected consumer demand and higher production costs.
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