Ford Boosts 50,000 Trucks, Transfers Workers After Fire

Ford will boost F-150 and F-Series Super Duty production by more than 50,000 vehicles in 2026 to recover losses from a fire at Novelis’ Oswego, N.Y., plant and to meet demand, creating up to about 1,000 jobs across Michigan and Kentucky. The automaker will add a third shift at its Dearborn Truck Plant to produce roughly 45,000 additional F-150 gas and hybrid trucks, staffing the shift largely with hourly workers transferred from the idled Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, and will keep F-150 Lightning assembly paused while prioritizing gas and hybrid models. The Kentucky Truck Plant will get a $60 million investment, add roughly 100 jobs, and increase line speeds to produce more than 5,000 additional Super Duty trucks annually. Ford estimates the Novelis disruption will trim roughly $1 billion from results after mitigation (it previously gave a $1–2 billion range), and CFO Sherry House said recent tariff-rule changes will cut this year’s U.S. import tariff cost to about $1 billion. COO Kumar Galhotra said Novelis’ hot mill was damaged while cold-mill and finishing operations continue, expects the hot mill back online by late November or early December, and Ford is reallocating capacity and sourcing aluminum from other Novelis locations and outside mills while reporting solid third-quarter results.