In Kentucky, People Blame Ford More Than Trump for Lost Factory Jobs [View all]

The electric vehicle battery factory that Ford Motor and a South Korean company opened on 1,500 acres of Kentucky farmland last year was the biggest thing, economically speaking, that had ever happened in Hardin County.

Yet in December, only four months after the first batteries rolled off the line, Ford abruptly shut down production and laid off all 1,600 workers, leaving people here in the county, about 45 miles south of Louisville, stunned and angry.

The closing came after President Trump and Republicans in Congress gutted programs designed to promote electric vehicles, causing sales to plunge.

Yet few people in Hardin County, where Mr. Trump won 64 percent of the vote in 2024, place much blame on Republicans.

Many said Ford itself was the biggest culprit, raising their hopes and then dashing them. They said the company’s foray into electric vehicles was a disaster largely of its own making.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/business/energy-environment/ford-trump-electric-vehicles-kentucky.html?

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Blame anyone but Dear Leader!!