Stellantis Puts $3.7B Canada Battery Plant On Ice, Jeopardizing Jobs Of Thousands

Automaker Stellantis NV STLA on Monday halted construction at its $5 billion CAD ($3.7 billion) battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, claiming that the Canadian government has not met its financial commitment to the company.

What Happened: Stellantis halted construction at the plant on Monday and said that it will begin its contingency plans, together with LG Energy Solution.

"As of today, the Canadian Government has not delivered on what was agreed to therefore Stellantis and LG Energy Solution will immediately begin implementing their contingency plans," the EV maker told Benzinga on Monday.

“It’s outrageous that tens of thousands of jobs are in jeopardy due to a failure to come to terms on government investment,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. Unifor is Canada's largest private-sector union, representing 315,000 workers.

The union called on both the government and the EV maker to deliver on the promises made to the workers.

“Companies like Stellantis don’t make threats, they make decisions,” said Payne. “Once those decisions get to a certain point down the road they are very hard to reverse and we cannot afford to let these jobs slip through our fingers.”

“Any brinkmanship must end, and a deal must be reached because come hell or high water no promised manufacturing jobs are leaving this country,” said Payne in a statement last week.

Why It Matters: Stellantis and LG announced the battery manufacturing facility in March last year. The plant, aimed at meeting a significant proportion of Stellantis’ battery requirements in the U.S., was targeted to be operational by the first quarter of 2024 and create 2,500 new jobs.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read More: Micromanaging Or Masterstroke? Elon Musk Reportedly Takes Control Of Tesla’s Hiring Process