Ford is idling the factory where it makes its F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks until next year, the company said today. It’s another unwelcome hiccup in Ford’s path to becoming a global EV producer.
The plan is to shut things down after the last shift on Friday, November 15th, at which point the plant will be closed for seven weeks, including holidays in which no work would have occurred anyway. The reasons are a bit vague, with Ford spokesperson Emma Berg citing a need to “adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability.”
That last word — profitability — is surely driving most of this decision. While Tesla just had a better-than-expected earnings quarter, Ford is still struggling to squeeze profit out of…