Although Ford recently announced a boost in production for its internal combustion engine trucks, the automaker reported that it will continue to pause production of its battery-electric F-150 Lightning.

According to a recent announcement by Ford, the F-150 Lightning’s production pause at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center is intended to allow Ford to prioritize gas and hybrid F-Series trucks, which the company deems more profitable and require less aluminum.

All of the hourly employees at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will transfer next door to Dearborn Truck Plant to join the new third crew. The rest of the third crew will comprise employees transferring from other Southeast Michigan Ford manufacturing facilities and new hires.

“The people who keep our country running depend on America’s most popular vehicle – F-Series trucks – and we are mobilizing our team to meet that demand,” said Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra. “As America’s leading auto producer, we will work with the UAW and our suppliers to quickly increase output at our F-Series plants in Michigan and Kentucky.”

Increase In Truck Production

Ford announced plans to significantly increase F-150 and F-Series Super Duty truck production to meet strong customer demand and recover production losses stemming from the fire at supplier Novelis’ Oswego, New York, aluminum plant.

Ford aims to increase its F-Series production volume by more than 50,000 trucks in 2026, ramping from the first quarter of 2026. This means creating up to 1,000 new jobs and transferring additional employees into Ford’s American truck assembly powerhouses.

Dearborn Truck Plant will target assembling more than 45,000 additional F-150 gas and hybrid trucks in 2026, enabled by a new third crew of 1,200 employees. Elsewhere at the Ford Rouge Complex, Ford will add 90 employees at Dearborn Stamping Plant and 80 employees at Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant to support the increase.

Kentucky Truck Plant aims to increase its F-Series Super Duty assembly line speed by one job per hour – or more than 5,000 trucks per year – with the addition of more than 100 employees. Ford will invest $60 million in Kentucky Truck Plant for training and other enablers to support the line speed increase.