Ford Pauses F-150 Lightning After Novelis Fire

Ford has paused assembly of the F-150 Lightning at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center after a Sept. 16 fire at Novelis’ Oswego aluminum plant and has no firm restart date, though Novelis said its hot mill could restart by December 2025. To conserve aluminum and protect margins, Ford is prioritizing gas and hybrid F-150 and F-Series Super Duty production and is targeting roughly 45,000–50,000 additional trucks in 2026 by adding a third shift at the Dearborn Truck Plant and investing in the Kentucky Truck Plant. All hourly Rouge EV Center workers will be moved to the new Dearborn crew, and Ford plans roughly 900–1,200 worker transfers plus about 100 additional hires in Kentucky (reports vary on exact totals). The company warned the Novelis fire could shave up to billions off quarterly earnings and has reduced its full-year profit guidance. The disruption highlights broader EV supply-chain vulnerabilities and has renewed industry focus on forecasting and resilience tools to mitigate similar material-supply shocks.