Ford Supplier JG Kern Expects Closure, Eliminating All 156 Michigan Jobs

A longtime Ford powertrain-component supplier expects to close its Sterling Heights, Michigan, operation and lay off all 156 employees after losing Ford business. JG Kern Enterprises described the cause as “unforeseeable business circumstances” in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state.

The planned shutdown follows Ford’s December 2025 decision to end production of the current battery-electric F-150 Lightning. Ford intends to replace it with a next-generation extended-range electric Lightning, but has not announced its launch timing. That transition changes more than the truck’s energy source: It also changes the components, production volumes and supplier contracts needed to build it.

Kern, which has operated since 1967, manufactures powertrain components for automakers. Ford is reportedly its largest current customer. An unnamed person familiar with the operation said Kern’s production lines remain active while the company completes its existing Ford contract, putting the closure at the end of remaining work rather than at an immediate production stop.

A vehicle-program change reaches beyond Ford’s plants

Automotive suppliers often invest in equipment, tooling, quality controls and worker skills around particular components and customer programs. Those capabilities can be highly productive while contracted volume is available, but they are not necessarily easy to redirect when a major order disappears. A machine line qualified for one powertrain part cannot automatically move to a different electric-drive component without new designs, capital, validation and a replacement customer.

That helps explain why the loss of one large automaker contract can threaten an entire specialized operation. The expected elimination of all 156 positions indicates that Kern has not identified enough replacement business to sustain the Sterling Heights site under its current plan. The consequence is therefore broader than a purchasing change: Michigan stands to lose skilled employment and an established piece of domestic component-manufacturing capacity.

The wider transition also presents a difficult investment problem for smaller suppliers. OECD analysis describes the automotive industry as an interconnected, multi-tiered network in which specialized firms supply components to larger manufacturers. It identifies small and medium-sized producers tied to traditional engine and transmission parts as particularly exposed as electrification redirects demand toward batteries, motors, controls, software and sensors.

Moving into those growth areas can require substantial spending before new revenue is secured. Suppliers may need different machinery, engineering expertise, testing processes and technology partners, yet the business case depends on winning sufficient production volume. A vehicle transition can therefore create new manufacturing work overall while leaving an incumbent supplier without a viable bridge from its existing contract to the next program.

Reported sourcing shift remains unconfirmed

The unnamed person also claimed Ford moved future work from Kern to suppliers in India and other U.S. states, and that lower labor costs in India influenced the decision. Ford did not confirm that account, and supplier agreements are confidential. No documentary sourcing information provided publicly establishes where Kern’s work will go or which factor decided the award.

Ford spokesman Dave Tovar said the company evaluates a broader set of operating requirements. “Our sourcing decisions consider quality, delivery, financial stability and operational risk so we can keep our plants operating and delivering vehicles to customers,” he said.

Tovar also said Ford remains committed to American manufacturing and jobs, adding that reliable suppliers are necessary to protect production and the thousands of jobs dependent on Ford plants. Those criteria reflect the systems-level tradeoff in automotive procurement: Unit cost matters, but so do part quality, delivery performance, supplier finances and the risk that a disruption could stop a vehicle assembly line.

Workers face the immediate transition

Michigan’s Rapid Response program coordinates assistance during layoffs and plant closures, including reemployment services, training connections and potential layoff-aversion work. The state says early intervention is critical when alternatives such as restructuring, a sale or worker retraining might be feasible.

For Kern’s employees, however, the filed plan is a permanent closure affecting the entire 156-person workforce. The lines may still be running to complete Ford’s contract, but that remaining production now marks a finite endpoint for a Michigan supplier that has manufactured powertrain components for nearly six decades.

By Thomas Caldwell — AMI’s senior editor for mechanical and mobility engineering, covering vehicle electronics, systems integration, electrification, chassis systems, propulsion, and safety policy.