Winning. For now. Ford Pausing Construction of Michigan Battery Plant. This is a major blow to the Governor who gave Ford hundreds of millions in incentives and tax breaks. The Chinese who are partners control the technology.
Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it’s pausing construction of a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan until it is confident it can run the factory competitively.
The move comes as the company is in the midst of national contract talks with the United Auto Workers union, which wants to represent workers at battery factories and win them top wages.
In February, Ford announced plans to build the plant in Marshall, Michigan, employing about 2,500 workers to make lower-cost batteries for a variety of new and existing vehicles. Marshall is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Detroit and is near two major interstate highways.
But Ford spokesman TR Reid confirmed Monday that plant construction has been paused and spending has been limited on it.
“There are a number of considerations,” he said in an email. “We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there.”
This from Senator Rubio.
“… if Chinese companies like CATL are able to exploit both Chinese and United States incentives for battery and EV technology through clever corporate arrangements, then there is no use in investing federal funds toward industrial development in the first place,” Rubio wrote to officials earlier this year. “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to support [People’s Republic of China] champions.”
As Breitbart News reported, CATL CEO Zeng Yuqun is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee — a high-ranking CCP advisory body that serves as a central component of the party’s “United Front” efforts.
China’s “United Front” efforts, as the federal government has noted, are considered to be a front for CCP intelligence operations overseas.
“The United Front strategy uses a range of methods to influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” a federal commission report from 2018 details.
