Workers at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center have endured months of uncertainty. As Ford’s flagship Detroit-area EV factory, REV-C was retooled to build the electric F-150 Lightning. But as demand for the electric pickup fluctuated, so did workers’ job status.

They were left reading between the lines and guessing about their futures. After Ford’s most recent announcement, it appears many won’t be returning to REV-C anytime soon.

On Oct. 23, a UAW Local 600 representative told the final 500 workers at REV-C they were “laid off indefinitely.” He later retracted the statement. Then, on Nov. 6, assembly lines at both REV-C and Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant shut down. Together, the two plants employ about 4,000 workers.

Ford blamed the shutdown on an aluminum shortage. That same day, however, The Wall Street Journal reported on “active discussions” inside Ford about killing the F-150 Lightning. One worker told the World Socialist Web Site morale was collapsing.

“We were laid off in the second week of October, but REV-C had already been off for almost a month by that time. They sent us a text last Thursday saying we would be off this week. They keep pushing back our return date. People are very angry.” — Worker at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant

Another worker described the routine uncertainty. “Every Thursday we get a robocall saying we’re laid off another week,” they said. “I’m four weeks into the shutdown. Employees are being denied unemployment with no help.”

That was in late November. By mid-December, Ford finally made an announcement.

Ford confirms the Lightning pause — and a strategic pivot

Ford is ending production of the current-generation F-150 Lightning. CEO Jim Farley has hinted at the shift for months. “Very large EVs that cost $50,000, $60,000, $70,000, we don’t believe in,” Farley said. “Retail customers have shown that they will not pay a premium for these large EVs.” When Ford formally announced the move, he called the decision a “customer-driven shift.”

That “shift” includes several pieces. Ford’s Kentucky battery plant will pivot toward stationary energy storage for facilities such as data centers. Its Ohio plant will focus on hybrid and electric fleet vehicles under Ford Pro.

The future of REV-C workers remains uncertain. Ford does not plan to bring back the electric F-150 until it redesigns the truck with a gasoline-powered range extender. That timeline remains unclear.

Ford has already transferred 500 REV-C employees to Dearborn Truck. It also plans to boost regular ICE F-150 production by 45,000 trucks annually. That increase would be “enabled by a new third crew of 1,200 employees.”

It’s likely many REV-C workers will receive offers to join that third shift. But they may have to wait for the next robocall to know for sure.