Ford shifting 550 jobs to Louisville truck plant amid ‘surging’ SUV demand

Correction: This story was corrected to remove errors about the number of jobs being created and the number of jobs being shifted from one Louisville Ford plant to another.

Because of surging demand for two of Ford’s SUVs, the company is creating 550 jobs at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, but employees from the company’s nearby assembly plant will fill the positions.

Ford announced Tuesday that its 550 additional jobs at the Kentucky Truck Plant on Chamberlain would be filled by workers from its Louisville Assembly Plant, which is located on Fern Valley Road..

The popularity of Ford’s Expedition and Navigator led to the shift, Ford said Tuesday.

Retail sales for the Expedition were up 35 percent last year and the average amount paid was $62,000, up $11,800 in one year, according to the company. Sales for the Navigator grew 70 percent in 2018 in the vehicle’s best sales year since 2007, Ford said.

“Kentucky Truck Plant is home to two of Ford and Lincoln’s most successful vehicles,” said John Savona, Ford vice president, North American manufacturing. “After seeing a continued increase in customer demand for Expedition and Navigator, we are boosting production for a second time to meet it.”

Vehicle production will increase in July, the motor company said. To produce more Expeditions and Navigators, Ford also increased the line speed at the truck plant.

It’s the second major announcement for the auto industry in Kentucky this month. Last week, Toyota’s Georgetown plant announced it will build the hybrid Rav4 crossover SUV and the hybrid Lexus ES in a $238 million investment.

This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 9:43 AM.