Ford announced a $9 million investment in the West Memphis area surrounding its BlueOval City campus on Thursday, detailing how the company plans to fund initiatives to support and “uplift” residents of the surrounding communities of the manufacturing facility.
The company’s “Good Neighbor Plan” was created after the company’s Equitable Growth Advisory Council, created in 2023 and composed of 30 community representatives, held 70 stakeholder meetings to determine which initiatives to fund in order to advance workforce development, community building, and environment protection in the “impact area” surrounding BlueOval City.
Ford plans to distribute the $9 million investment across seven different categories of initiatives: community gathering spaces; community preservation; protecting the environment; literacy programs; support for farmers and businesses; workforce development; and youth programs.
One immediate investment Ford touted is the renovation of a historic schoolhouse in Stanton to become the new Ford Community Center where residents can “connect with multiple services, opportunities, local leaders, and each other,” as the project is expected to be complete sometime this year.
Ford also plans to “build or renovate playgrounds, providing safe and accessible spaces for children to play and learn” as part of its commitment to improve community gathering spaces, including five playgrounds in Haywood County and one in Mason as well as a community pool and splash pad in Brownsville.
When it comes to developing a “local talent pipeline” for its BlueOval City campus, Ford said it has created $2,500 cost-of-attendance scholarships to students pursuing careers in automotive-related manufacturing careers. The scholarship is available to students studying at a Tennessee College of Applied Technology, or other technical college, within a 60-mile radius of BlueOval City.
Other projects Ford plans for the area is creating a childcare facility about half a mile from the manufacturing campus and funding coach buses and transportation vans for employees of BlueOval City.
“Every community surrounding BlueOval City should benefit as the complex comes to life,” Ford wrote in an open letter addressed to “friends and neighbors in West Tennessee.”
While Ford was expected to begin the rollout of its next-generation electric truck that will be manufactured at BlueOval City in 2025, the company announced last August that it was delaying the launch until the second half of 2027.
Production of cells at BlueOval SK for Ford’s new electric commercial van and future electric vehicles remain on track to be produced at the West Tennessee campus this year.
Once fully operational, BlueOval City is anticipated to employ approximately 6,000 workers between the electric vehicle manufacturing facility and battery manufacturing facility.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Construction at BlueOval City Tennessee” by Ford Motor Company.
