Stellantis Ends Feud Over Windsor Battery Plant With Canadian Government, To Resume Construction

Automaker Stellantis NV STLA said on Wednesday that it will resume construction immediately at its CAD 5 billion ($3.76 billion) battery plant in Windsor, Canada. The automaker had put the plant on hold in May following disagreements with the Canadian government over financial support.

What Happened: The Canadian government has met its commitment of leveling the playing field with the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and we are now resuming construction in Windsor, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution said in a joint statement. It is not evident as to how much the plant will receive from the government in subsidies.

"The IRA fundamentally changed the landscape for battery production in North America, making it challenging to produce competitively priced, state-of-the-art batteries in Canada without an equivalent level of support from government," said North America COO Mark Stewart.

Stellantis and LG announced the battery manufacturing facility in March last year. The plant aims to have an annual production capacity of more than 45 GWh and production operations are planned to launch in 2024.

Why It Matters: Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union representing 315,000 workers, thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford and Stellantis over the decision to resume construction.

The union has been calling on both the government and Stellantis to deliver on the promises made to workers since the pause on the plant. "Any brinkmanship must end, and a deal must be reached because come hell or high water no promised manufacturing jobs are leaving this country," Unifor National President Lana Payne had said.

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