37% of Employees Laid Off at SK Battery Plant in Georgia, US Amid Sluggish EV Sales

SK On, the battery subsidiary of SK Innovation, has laid off more than one-third of its workforce at its plant in Georgia, United States.

SK On Corporate Image. SK On

According to Bloomberg News on March 6 (local time), SK Battery America, the U.S. subsidiary of SK On, announced in a disclosure that it had laid off 968 workers—37% of the 2,566 employees—at its plant in Commerce, Georgia.

This round of layoffs is part of a restructuring effort in response to slowing electric vehicle (EV) sales and changing market conditions. In an emailed statement, SK Battery America said, "We made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce in order to adjust business operations in line with market conditions," adding, "We remain committed to fulfilling our promises to Georgia and to building a robust U.S. supply chain for advanced battery manufacturing."

This plant has supplied EV batteries to automakers including Volkswagen of Germany and Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. It also supplied batteries for Ford's electric pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning, but recently suffered reduced profitability after Ford canceled production of this model.

Ford decided to focus on producing hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicles after the U.S. administration ended tax credit benefits for EV purchases.

Meanwhile, SK Innovation is constructing a second battery plant in Georgia, which will supply batteries to Hyundai Motor Company and is scheduled to begin production in the first half of this year. Another plant in Tennessee, which was a joint venture with Ford in the past, is scheduled to begin production in 2028.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.