Overview
- SK Battery America said it laid off 958 workers on March 6 at its Commerce, Georgia facility, cutting headcount to roughly 1,600 employees.
- The $2.6 billion plant, opened in 2022, had supplied cells for Ford’s F-150 Lightning as well as Hyundai and Volkswagen.
- The cuts follow Ford’s December 2025 cancellation of the F-150 Lightning and the dissolution of an $11.4 billion Ford–SK joint venture that triggered large impairments.
- Executives point to weaker U.S. EV sales after Congress ended the $7,500 purchase credit in September 2025 and regulators eased fuel-economy and emissions rules.
- SK On is shifting capacity toward battery energy storage systems and says a second Georgia plant with Hyundai remains on track for first-half 2026, with a Tennessee facility targeted for 2028.