EV maker Stellantis has indefinitely halted construction at its $5 billion battery manufacturing site in Windsor, Ontario, and is blaming the federal government for failing to meet funding commitments.
Stellantis on Monday confirmed that its EV battery project with LG Energy Solution is being put on hold because the federal government has thus far failed to boost funding. “the Canadian Government has not delivered on what was agreed to therefore Stellantis and LG Energy Solution will begin implementing their contingency plans,” the company said in a statement. “Effective immediately, all construction related to the battery module production on the Windsor site has stopped.”
Construction on the plant began in 2022, and once completed, would create 2,500 jobs. The federal and provincial governments both agreed to fund the project, but stopped short of publicly unveiling the amount. However, according to Stellantis, the Liberal government hasn’t held up its end of the deal. The revelation comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced generous subsidies to the tune of $13.7 billion to Volkswagen for the future construction of an EV battery plant in St. Thomas.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also pledged $500 million in up-front capital costs for Wolkswagen’s project, whilst urging the federal government to give Stellantis the same funding treatment it gave to Volkswagen. “It really worries me. You know, we need the federal government to step up as they did for Volkswagen. We’ve signed a deal with Stellantis months ago, quite some time ago actually, on infrastructure— and we gave them the exact same amount as we gave Volkswagen.”
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