Ford has halted production and sales of its electric F-150 Truck

Ford intends to reduce its European engineering footprint by 2025.

Ford has halted production and sales of its electrified F-150 Lightning pickup truck due to a battery issue. The battery is the source of the potential quality concern. As per the sources, the battery for the F-150 Lightning is supplied by SK On, a subsidiary of Korean firm SK Innovation.

Investors are keeping a close eye on the F-150 Lightning since it is the first mainstream electric pickup truck on the market and a significant launch for Ford.

Ford official Emma Bergg declined to comment on the suspected battery issue, which is being studied after a vehicle revealed a potential problem during pre-delivery quality inspections.

According to Electrek, the firm issued a nationwide "stop shipment" order to hold F-150 Lightnings until a potential battery issue is addressed.

"We're doing a root cause study. This potential problem was discovered during our pre-delivery quality inspections. We are not aware of any cases of this problem in the field. There is no halt to the sale," Ford stated.

Ford has not specified when production and shipping of the electric vehicle would resume.

Meanwhile, the manufacturer stated that it will cut 3,800 positions in Europe over the next three years in order to restructure its operations and create a leaner, more competitive cost structure. Ford intends to reduce its European engineering footprint by 2025, resulting in the loss of 2,800 employees.

In addition, a leaner cost structure for Ford's administrative, marketing, sales, and distribution services in Europe will be established, which will include the removal of around 1,000 roles.

Ford stated that it will maintain an engineering organization in Europe with roughly 3,400 employees focusing on vehicle design and development, as well as the development of connected services.