Battery company SK Battery America Inc. laid off nearly 1,000 workers at a manufacturing plant northeast of Atlanta on Friday amid automakers’ changing electrification plans and uncertain consumer demand for EVs.

The company said Friday marked the last working day for 958 plant employees, about 37% of its workforce, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notice filed by human resources chief Chuck Moore. Impacted workers will be paid through May 6. The plant will continue to employ about 1,600 workers.

SK opened the $2.6 billion battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, in January 2022. The Korean company notably supplied the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. Ford announced plans to cancel the fully electric version of the truck in December.

The news comes as the U.S. electric vehicle market is at a standstill amid the Trump administration steering federal support away from electrification in favor of more lax automotive emissions policies and a broader agenda supporting the oil and gas industries.

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 Electric Storage System arena.”

The City of Commerce and the Jackson County commission chair did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ford said in December that it would scrap the fully-electric version of its iconic pickup truck and opt for an extended-range version of the vehicle. A Ford spokesperson said it could not comment on supplier personnel actions.

SK and Ford had together previously invested $11.4 billion in joint battery plants in the U.S. The battery maker ended the joint venture in December.

SK is also a supplier to Volkswagen.

“Let’s be clear: these were battery manufacturing jobs and now they’re gone,” Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, said in a statement. “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.”

SK has invested significantly in Jackson County in Georgia in recent years as automakers shored up plans to spend billions to develop and build EVs and the federal government under former President Joe Biden supported efforts to build out a domestic EV supply chain.

It had also announced in June 2020 plans to pour $940 million to expand its battery manufacturing presence in Atlanta. At the time, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said the expansion would create 600 jobs.

SK and Hyundai are still jointly building a $5 billion battery factory near Cartersville, northwest of Atlanta.

The state has also attracted other massive EV manufacturing investments; Rivian’s $5 billion factory and Hyundai’s own $7.6 billion factory complex among them.

Few states benefited more than Georgia from Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, which accelerated a rush of green energy projects. The 33 additional projects announced by the end of 2024 were the most nationwide, according to E2, an environmental business group. Exact figures differ, but projects in Georgia topped $20 billion, pledging more than 25,000 jobs. Some of those companies are still pushing on. Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s Hanwha Solutions, said Friday that it had resumed normal production. The company had temporarily reduced hours and pay for some workers last year because U.S. customs officials had been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels.

EV demand, while still growing, has not met automakers’ ambitious expectations in recent years. EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2025, much the same as a year earlier.

Automakers have been reevaluating their multibillion-dollar electrification plans as financial losses mount and demand shifts.

Manufacturers including Ford, General Motors, Stellantis and others — along with others across the EV supply chain — have reneged on factory, investment and product plans, laid off workers and, instead, pivoted some of those efforts to hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Hybrids and more efficient gasoline-powered vehicles are seemingly more palatable for mainstream buyers concerned about EV driving range and charging infrastructure availability.

Under President Donald Trump, meanwhile, Congress has eliminated tax credits of up to $7,500 for consumers’ purchases of new or used EVs.

The administration has also announced plans to weaken fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions rules for automakers, essentially eliminating any federal incentive for auto companies to make their vehicle fleets cleaner.

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St. John reported from Detroit.

ATLANTA — Georgia Republicans are getting antsy. As U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff dominates the nation in fundraising and makes his case to voters, three Republicans who want his spot are still competing among themselves for their party’s nomination.

This week’s election frenzy in Texas didn’t help. After President Donald Trump declined to help clear the field with an endorsement, Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton are primed for a bitter and expensive runoff that could sap resources needed in more competitive states.

Trump has since promised to choose between the two of them, but he hasn’t said when he’ll make an announcement or whom he’ll support. And there’s no sign that the president is ready to get involved in Georgia’s primary on May 19, meaning Republicans there could be on course for a similar predicament.

“I’d like to have as many days as I can to focus the public’s attention on the choice between our nominee and Sen. Ossoff,” said state party chair Josh McKoon. “Assuming that President Trump does not weigh in, it seems like it is more likely than not that we will have a runoff.”

Each of Georgia’s three main Republican contenders — Rep. Mike Collins, Rep. Buddy Carter and former football coach Derek Dooley — has positioned himself as the best person to help Trump in Washington. Trump could almost certainly anoint a winner if he wanted to use his influence.

“It is the gold standard of the party,” said Faith & Freedom Coalition chairman Ralph Reed. “It’s the strongest endorsement I’ve ever seen in my career.”

Ossoff sees political advantage in the competition for Trump’s support.

“My opponents have already made clear they will be Donald Trump’s puppets,” Ossoff said in a speech this week at Georgia’s capitol.

The non-endorsement looms over race

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, warned in an interview with The Washington Examiner last month that the wide primary field could end in a general election loss in Georgia.

“We need to get it down to one candidate as soon as possible,” Scott said. “And if we are able to do so, we have a chance to be successful there. But as long as we have three candidates, it’s going to be tougher for us.”

Republican strategist and Collins ally Stephen Lawson warned that Ossoff “continues every day going unscathed.”

“I do think there has to be some sense of urgency on settling on a candidate and clearing the field sooner rather than later,” he said.

Collins has a long list of endorsements in the state, and he’s backed by the Club for Growth, a nationally influential conservative advocacy group. He describes himself as the “America First MAGA candidate.”

However, he also facing an ethics complaint from a congressional watchdog accusing his policy adviser and former chief of staff of improperly hiring his girlfriend as an intern even though she didn’t complete assigned work. Collins has called the complaint “bogus.”

Carter said in an interview this week that “I’m the one without any baggage.”

A political fixture in southeast Georgia, Carter says he’s a “MAGA warrior.” He has called for expanded immigration enforcement in the state despite criticisms of aggressive tactics elsewhere.

As Republicans compete with each other, Ossoff has been boosting his cash advantage. The senator has over $25.5 million on hand. Meanwhile, Collins has $2.3 million, Dooley has $2.1 million, and Carter has $4.2 million, including many of his own dollars.

However, McKoon said he’s confident Republican donors will coalesce around a winner and help them catch up.

Trump ‘wants to win’

Trump has a mixed track record on endorsements, particularly in Georgia. In 2021, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler lost to Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock. In 2022, Warnock beat football star Herschel Walker.

Carter noted that Republicans have a narrow majority in the House, including Collins and himself, and guessed that Trump doesn’t want to jeopardize that.

“The president really is probably going to sit this one out,” Carter said.

Collins flattered Trump’s endorsement record, saying he has “always had the impeccable ability to put his name on someone at the right time to get the most bang for his buck.”

Candidates aren’t just trying to convince voters they align with Trump — they’re also trying to convince the president that they would come out on top in November. That’s what matters most to Trump, Reed said.

“The only thing that drives Trump more than finding candidates that are loyal both philosophically and personally is identifying and getting behind candidates that can win,” Reed said. “He wants to win.”