Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it stopped construction of its $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Mich., a decision the UAW blasted as a “shameful, barely-veiled threat” to cut jobs amid tense contract negotiations.
“We’re pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant,” Ford spokesperson T.R. Reid told Automotive News on Monday. “We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there.”
The stoppage was reported earlier Monday by The Detroit News.
Ford in February revealed plans for the site, which is to be known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan. It originally was slated to open in 2026 as a wholly owned Ford subsidiary using technology from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., based in China.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, impact the pause would have on Ford’s ability to source batteries for future EVs. Reid said the company remained committed to being an EV leader.
The plant is slated to employ 2,500 workers and have the capacity to build 35 gigawatt-hours of lithium iron phosphate cells a year, which is enough to power about 400,000 EVs, Ford said. The automaker, which announced it would partner with CATL last July, said lithium iron phosphate chemistry will help it increase production of EVs and make them cheaper to build.
Republican lawmakers later probed the deal, and Ford’s partnership with the Chinese company, scrutinizing issues around American jobs, technology-sharing and links to forced labor. The company had previously characterized most of the concerns over its ties with a foreign company as inaccurate and stressed that CATL would not receive any subsidies.
“After months of investigation by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, we’re encouraged to see Ford take a crucial first step to reevaluate its deal with Chinese Communist Party-aligned EV battery firm, CATL,” Mike Gallagher, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement. “CATL’s deep ties to CCP forced labor have no place in the American market and make the company exceptionally unfit to receive American taxpayer dollars. Now, Ford needs to call off this deal for good.”
The Select Committee opened an investigation into Ford’s proposed licensing agreement in July.
The Marshall plant was approved for $1.7 billion worth of incentives, including a $210 million Critical Industry Program grant to Ford, a Renaissance Zone tax exemption worth $772 million over 15 years, $630 million for MDOT and the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance, and $120 million for other site prep work.
“Michigan is home to world-class automakers whose iconic vehicles are built by the best auto workers in the world – and the governor is committed to keeping it that way,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statemtent. “That’s why we’ve been aggressively pursuing deals that support working men and women, while also bringing supply chains back home from overseas for the first time and securing record-breaking investment that will guarantee jobs for decades. Ford has been clear that this is a pause, and we hope negotiations between the Big 3 and UAW will be successful so that Michiganders can get back to work doing what they do best.”
“We are aware of the current pause on work and we remain confident of the enormous potential of Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park project to create local opportunities and thousands of local jobs,” Jim Durian, CEO of Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance said in a statement. “We hope current negotiations between Ford and the UAW conclude in a mutually beneficial manner and we remain confident this project will continue as planned once these negotiations are complete.”
In a statement issued late Monday, UAW President Shawn Fain blasted the move.
“This is a shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs” Fain said. “Closing 65 plants over the last 20 years wasn’t enough for the Big Three, now they want to threaten us with closing plants that aren’t even open yet. We are simply asking for a just transition to electric vehicles and Ford is instead doubling down on their race to the bottom.”
Since the plant will be a wholly owned Ford subsidiary, it is expected to be covered under the automaker’s national union contract and would not require a separate unionization vote, only a “card check” from workers.
The union has prioritized fighting for better wages at EV battery plants, most of which are owned by joint ventures between automakers and other companies.