Posts tagged Marshall
Ford pauses EV battery project; UAW calls decision ‘shameful’
September 27, 2023 // The Marshall project, named BlueOval Battery Park, was a collaboration with a Chinese firm called CATL. Michigan lawmakers had granted the project about $1.7 billion in cash and other forms of corporate welfare. BlueOval Battery Park drew major scrutiny, from Marshall residents to officials in Lansing and Washington, D.C. The chairs of three U.S. House committees sent letters to Ford CEO Jim Farley to inquire about the partnership; two of those committees said they were investigating the matter themselves. Republican lawmakers in Lansing said Ford’s decision is a commentary on the state of Michigan’s business climate, electric grid and energy transition. “After failing to land other high-profile Ford deals, Gov. Whitmer gave away the store to bring Ford to Marshall,” said Republican House Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township.
Ford announces pause on Marshall EV battery plant
September 26, 2023 // The company has commented that this site was meant to bring in 2,500 hundred jobs. The factory was set to start making batteries in 2026, with an expected output of enough energy cells to supply 400,000 vehicles a year. The state had allocated nearly $1.7 billion in incentives for the project. Following Monday’s announcement, Republican Representative Sarah Lightner, whose district covers parts of Calhoun County, issued a statement: “Gov. Whitmer threw $1.7 billion in taxpayer dollars at Ford to bring its new EV plant to Marshall, but even that wasn’t enough to make the company turn a blind eye toward the anti-business climate the Democrat majority has created. Their far-left policies put more red tape and higher costs on businesses. The extreme energy mandate they’re currently pushing will raise costs even further while leaving large manufacturers like Ford worried about blackouts affecting their bottom line. If this keeps up, Michigan workers will pay the price as industries suffer and opportunities vanish.
Gotion floats $24-an-hour average wage as it seeks non-union plant
August 9, 2023 // “The kickoff is not intended to be union,” Thelen said of workers in the plant. “If the workers are unhappy and they wish to unionize, obviously we respect the right to do so. But our preference is that we make our workers so happy that they feel they don’t need a union, and that’s the way you should collaborate with your workforce.”