The massive investments towards an all-electric motoring future continue!
General Motors and LG Chem (a South Korean arm of the giant electronics company) announced this week that they will be investing $2.3 billion to build a new factory in Ohio. The plant will produce electric vehicle battery cells. Upon completion, it will be on the world’s largest battery facilities, rivaling the likes of Tesla.
The two companies claim the plant will employ roughly 1,100 people once it’s fully operational. Construction begins in the Summer of 2020, near GM’s former assembly plant in Lordstown. While speaking to the media, GM CEO Mary Barra laid out the reasoning for such a massive investment.
“General Motors believes in the science of global warming and believes in an all-electric future,” she said, according to Reuters. The project is aimed at “dramatically enhancing electric vehicle affordability and profitability.”
The plant will initially be used to make batteries for GM’s upcoming all-electric pickup truck. The currently unnamed truck won’t start production until the Fall of 2021.
A GM spokeswoman said that both companies will invest about $916 million in the plant, making it a true 50/50 venture. The remaining funds are made up of raised debt capital. Inside sources claim that the workers for the new GM-LG plant will be represented by the United Auto Workers Union and earn $15 to $17 an hour. If these rumors are true, it will be first EV battery factory in the United States to be unionized.
Overall, this is great news for the auto industry in Ohio. GM came under fire for previously closing their Lordstown manufacturing plant. Even the U.S. President publicly criticized the decision. Now, GM in again investing in the Ohio economy, as well as positioning themselves for the electric future of the industry.
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