SK Battery America lays off 958 workers at Georgia plant amid EV slowdown

SK Battery America Inc. laid off 958 workers Friday at its Commerce, Georgia battery manufacturing plant, cutting about 37% of its workforce as automakers scaled back electric vehicle commitments and federal policy shifted away from electrification incentives. The layoffs, documented in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing, take effect immediately; affected employees will receive pay through May 6. About 1,600 workers will remain at the Commerce facility.

The cuts illustrate a broad contraction in the U.S. EV supply chain. Electric vehicles accounted for about 8% of new U.S. vehicle sales in 2025, short of automakers’ projections, while Congress has eliminated consumer tax credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases and the Trump administration has moved to weaken fuel economy standards that had pushed automakers toward electrification.

COMMERCE, Ga. — SK Battery America Inc. laid off 958 workers Friday at its northeast Georgia battery manufacturing plant, cutting about 37% of its workforce as automakers pulled back from electric vehicle commitments and federal policy shifted away from electrification incentives.

The layoffs, documented in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing by human resources chief Chuck Moore, take effect immediately. Affected employees will receive pay through May 6. About 1,600 workers will remain employed at the facility.

SK Americas spokesperson Joe Guy Collier said in a statement that the workforce reduction was made to align operations to market conditions.

“SK Battery America remains committed to Georgia and to building a robust U.S. supply chain for advanced battery manufacturing,” Collier said. “We are pursuing a range of future customers, including the Battery Energy Storage System arena.”

Ford cancellation drove demand loss

SK’s plant in Commerce opened in January 2022 at a cost of $2.6 billion and served as a primary battery supplier for the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. Ford announced in December that it would cancel the fully electric version of the truck and pursue an extended-range model instead. A Ford spokesperson said the company could not comment on supplier personnel actions.

SK and Ford had jointly invested $11.4 billion in battery manufacturing in the United States. The two companies ended their joint venture in December. SK also supplies Volkswagen.

EV demand short of projections

Electric vehicles accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2025, roughly unchanged from the prior year and short of automakers’ earlier projections. Manufacturers including Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have scaled back electrification plans, laid off workers and pivoted toward hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles as consumers expressed concern about driving range and charging infrastructure.

Congress eliminated consumer tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchases of new or used electric vehicles. The Trump administration has also announced plans to weaken fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for automakers, reducing federal pressure on manufacturers to electrify their fleets.

Georgia EV investments in flux

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, attributed the cuts to federal energy policy in a statement.

“Let’s be clear: these were battery manufacturing jobs and now they’re gone,” Ossoff said. “As predicted, Trump’s war on electric vehicles is hurting Georgia’s economy. We were booming and building new plants. Now Georgians are losing their jobs.”

Gov. Brian Kemp’s office pointed to the state’s broader jobs picture in a statement.

“Thankfully, Georgia’s job market remains robust, with over 219,700 new jobs being announced since 2019, affording Georgians the opportunity for gainful employment, no matter their zip code,” the statement said.

Georgia attracted more clean energy project announcements than any other state by the end of 2024, with 33 projects totaling more than $20 billion and pledging more than 25,000 jobs, according to E2, an environmental business group. SK and Hyundai are still jointly constructing a $5 billion battery factory near Cartersville, northwest of Atlanta. Rivian is building a $5 billion manufacturing facility in the state, and Hyundai operates a $7.6 billion factory complex.

On the same day as the SK announcement, Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said it had resumed normal production at its Georgia solar panel facility. The company had temporarily reduced hours and pay for some workers after U.S. customs officials detained imported components needed to manufacture solar panels.