MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Ford Motor Co. and a South Korean company would have to create more than 5,000 full-time jobs at a planned electric pickup truck factory and battery manufacturing plant in Tennessee or pay back at least part of a $500 million state grant for the project, according to a lease approved Thursday by a regional board.
The Megasite Authority of West Tennessee’s board of directors voted to approve the lease during a meeting to discuss the $5.6 billion project to build electric F-Series pickups and batteries at a 3,600-acre (1,460-hectare) parcel of land in rural Stanton, northeast of Memphis.
Ford, battery maker SK Innovation and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced the project in September. A joint venture called BlueOvalSK will also construct twin battery plants in Glendale, Kentucky, in an estimated $5.8 billion investment. The projects are expected to create an estimated 10,800 jobs and shift the automaker’s future manufacturing footprint toward the South while putting an emphasis on green energy.
Construction on the Tennessee site, named BlueOval City, is expected to begin later this year. Ford has said it plans to start production by 2025.
“The approval of the site lease for BlueOval City is another important step in keeping the project moving forward,” Ford said in a statement.