Ford Abruptly Halts Construction on Much-Touted $3.5 Billion EV Battery Plant
Sep 26, 2023 17:09:15 #
Ford Motor Co. is halting work on a $3.5 billion plant in Marshall, Michigan, that would make batteries for electric vehicles.
The announcement came after the automaker in July projected its EV unit would lose $4.5 billion this year, about 50 percent more than initially expected, and that it was slowing its plans to increase EV production, according to Reuters.
The delay also comes as Ford is in the midst of talks with the striking United Auto Workers union. President Joe Biden plans to join a UAW picket line on Tuesday, a day ahead of a planned visit to the workers by former President Donald Trump.
“We’re pausing work, and we’re going to limit spending on construction at Marshall until we’re confident about our ability to competitively run the plant,” Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Detroit News on Monday.
Reid said a “number of considerations” were at work in the decision, but would not speak to the UAW talks.
“We haven’t made a final decision about the investment there,” Reid said of the Marshall site.
The administration of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer agreed to give Ford $1.7 billion in incentives.
“After failing to land other high-profile Ford deals, Gov. Whitmer gave away the store to bring Ford to Marshall,” Michigan state House Republican leader Matt Hall said in a statement, according to the Detroit Free Press. “But with Democrats pushing policies that make Michigan less competitive, the $1.7 billion in subsidies and tax incentives still fell short.”
The Ford plant would use technology from China’s CATL, which led to concerns that tax subsidies would benefit a Chinese company, Reuters noted.
That led Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan to say that beyond the Ford project, the nation needs a new direction.
“While I support Ford’s decision to put the Marshall project on hold, President Biden should end his tailpipe policies and give American automakers and their employees the freedom to innovate and create the auto technologies of the future,” he said, according to The Detroit News.
“Right now, Biden’s current policies force American auto companies to be more dependent on the Chinese C*******t Party and the electric vehicle materials that China has a stranglehold on,” he said.
“We applaud that the construction of this reckless deal has been halted,” former U.S. Ambassadors Peter Hoekstra and Joseph Cella, co-founders of the Michigan-China Economic and Security Review Group, said in a statement Monday, according to Fox Business.
Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands from January 2018 to January 2021. Cella was ambassdor to the Pacific island nations of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu from 2019 to 2021.
“From the outset, Ford Motor Company, the State of Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and all other parties to it have been irresponsible in advancing this deal.
“There was zero strict scrutiny or due diligence, concerns of our intelligence and national security agencies were ignored and mocked,” the statement said. “The halting of the construction is the natural result of the consent of the governed being ruptured by government and business elites.”
Ford has also voiced a concern that the China connection would mean the plant’s products would not be covered by the proposed EV tax credit contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, Reuters noted.
The act bans the credit from being used for a vehicle if its battery components are made or put together by a “foreign entity of concern.”
The announcement came after the automaker in July projected its EV unit would lose $4.5 billion this year, about 50 percent more than initially expected, and that it was slowing its plans to increase EV production, according to Reuters.
The delay also comes as Ford is in the midst of talks with the striking United Auto Workers union. President Joe Biden plans to join a UAW picket line on Tuesday, a day ahead of a planned visit to the workers by former President Donald Trump.
“We’re pausing work, and we’re going to limit spending on construction at Marshall until we’re confident about our ability to competitively run the plant,” Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Detroit News on Monday.
Reid said a “number of considerations” were at work in the decision, but would not speak to the UAW talks.
“We haven’t made a final decision about the investment there,” Reid said of the Marshall site.
The administration of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer agreed to give Ford $1.7 billion in incentives.
“After failing to land other high-profile Ford deals, Gov. Whitmer gave away the store to bring Ford to Marshall,” Michigan state House Republican leader Matt Hall said in a statement, according to the Detroit Free Press. “But with Democrats pushing policies that make Michigan less competitive, the $1.7 billion in subsidies and tax incentives still fell short.”
The Ford plant would use technology from China’s CATL, which led to concerns that tax subsidies would benefit a Chinese company, Reuters noted.
That led Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan to say that beyond the Ford project, the nation needs a new direction.
“While I support Ford’s decision to put the Marshall project on hold, President Biden should end his tailpipe policies and give American automakers and their employees the freedom to innovate and create the auto technologies of the future,” he said, according to The Detroit News.
“Right now, Biden’s current policies force American auto companies to be more dependent on the Chinese C*******t Party and the electric vehicle materials that China has a stranglehold on,” he said.
“We applaud that the construction of this reckless deal has been halted,” former U.S. Ambassadors Peter Hoekstra and Joseph Cella, co-founders of the Michigan-China Economic and Security Review Group, said in a statement Monday, according to Fox Business.
Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands from January 2018 to January 2021. Cella was ambassdor to the Pacific island nations of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu from 2019 to 2021.
“From the outset, Ford Motor Company, the State of Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and all other parties to it have been irresponsible in advancing this deal.
“There was zero strict scrutiny or due diligence, concerns of our intelligence and national security agencies were ignored and mocked,” the statement said. “The halting of the construction is the natural result of the consent of the governed being ruptured by government and business elites.”
Ford has also voiced a concern that the China connection would mean the plant’s products would not be covered by the proposed EV tax credit contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, Reuters noted.
The act bans the credit from being used for a vehicle if its battery components are made or put together by a “foreign entity of concern.”
Sep 26, 2023 17:16:07 #
Parky60 wrote:
Ford Motor Co. is halting work on a $3.5 billion p... (show quote)
Well of course.
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Sep 26, 2023 17:22:37 #
Milosia2 wrote:
Well of course.
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Ignorant troll
Sep 26, 2023 17:52:00 #
Milosia2 wrote:
Well of course.
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
If I recall correctly the CEOs for the Big Three make roughly $80 million per year in wages and fringes or $1.5 million a week.
On the other hand there are roughly 146 thousand UAW workers who make $80 thousand each in wages and fringes or $225 million per week.
So, it sounds to me like the UAW makes 150 times more that the CEOs slick.
Sep 26, 2023 19:47:24 #
Milosia2 wrote:
Well of course.
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
🤪🤪🤪🤪
Sep 26, 2023 21:38:04 #
LogicallyRight
Loc: Chicago
Milosia2 wrote:
Well of course.
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Now they’ll need to pay for it with their own money instead of the money they’ve been stealing from their workers for 40+ years.
Their CEO may need unto take a pay cut.
386 times what the average worker makes .
Could be Un Fair .
For a CEO to make in a week what a worker nsjes in a lifetime, could be a tad ….UnFair !!!!!
Your meds, your meds. Everytime ewe fail to take your meds ewe look like ewe don't have the slightest idea what ewe are writing about.
Sep 26, 2023 21:41:19 #
LogicallyRight wrote:
Your meds, your meds. Everytime ewe fail to take your meds ewe look like ewe don't have the slightest idea what ewe are writing about.
I don’t think the meds work.
😁😁😁😁
Sep 27, 2023 12:10:34 #
LogicallyRight wrote:
Your meds, your meds. Everytime ewe fail to take your meds ewe look like ewe don't have the slightest idea what ewe are writing about.
I am thinking the meds are compounding the problem.
Sep 28, 2023 05:17:09 #
I believe Joe Biden thru H****r B***n sold a priceless plutonium mine the size of a couple of miles in Africa to China for 10% of the mines worth. And that is why Briben has banned fossel fuels. Bidens expect to gain billions in revenue from the sale of battery's that require plutoium for the100% of future american autos. I may have the wrong element in this mine. But it is evident. I'm thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ for the wisdom of the Ford Company to put this EV project on hold. Also no electric grid in America will support this.. Recently a severe winter nearly collapsed the newely revised Texas electric grid. And doesn't it require coal to produce electricity? Huh! Fossel fuel...!!!
Sep 28, 2023 05:38:21 #
Beware of The Joe Biden Family
There is a $$$ motive to creepy Briben Bidens madness.
Joe Biden sold USA"s African mine full of elements to China to make batterys
Bidens own 10% of mine to make electric battery product to make electric battery's.
On Day One Corrupt Joe banned fossel fuel forcing the sale of EV's so they can rake in billions. Our electric grids won't support this.Texas grid nearly crashed 4 or 5 yrs ago from severe winter. We shouldn't be so gullible when our lives are at stake.
Demand Penaltys for this high Treason.. Penalty for high treason is death. How many Americans did thier C***d19 k**l? I lost a husband.
There is a $$$ motive to creepy Briben Bidens madness.
Joe Biden sold USA"s African mine full of elements to China to make batterys
Bidens own 10% of mine to make electric battery product to make electric battery's.
On Day One Corrupt Joe banned fossel fuel forcing the sale of EV's so they can rake in billions. Our electric grids won't support this.Texas grid nearly crashed 4 or 5 yrs ago from severe winter. We shouldn't be so gullible when our lives are at stake.
Demand Penaltys for this high Treason.. Penalty for high treason is death. How many Americans did thier C***d19 k**l? I lost a husband.
Sep 28, 2023 05:39:12 #
Sep 28, 2023 08:37:37 #
Alicenwdrlnd wrote:
Beware of The Joe Biden Family br There is a $$$ ... (show quote)
I’m sorry for your loss. There are a lot of people who are just not very bright. Others are afraid to see the t***h because it is horrifying. It’s hard for sane people to believe what they have done and are doing. I believe the t***h is about to come out so fast they won’t be able to lie enough to keep up. They think we are down and out and we can’t stop them. They’re getting careless and the t***h will emerge. I believe when what they are doing comes to light even the hard core stupid will see it. It’s not just the Bidens or the democrats. The scale of the treason suggests involvement by some we think are on our side.
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