Back in February, Ford (F) -) was telling the world all about BlueOval Battery Park Michigan.
The automaker said it was investing $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, as part of Ford's more than $50 billion push "to lead the EV revolution."
Related: Tesla rival Nissan commits all electric, reveals sporty vehicle
The facility would employ 2,500 workers with initial production slated for 2026.
“We are committed to leading the electric vehicle revolution in America, and that means investing in the technology and jobs that will keep us on the cutting edge of this global transformation in our industry,” Bill Ford, Ford executive chair, said in a statement.
“I am also proud that we chose our home state of Michigan for this critical battery production hub," Ford added.
Construction paused
But a lot has happened in the last seven months. The United Auto Workers union, which wants to represent workers at battery factories, went on strike against Ford, General Motors (GM) -) and Stellantis (STLA) -) on Sept. 15.
And now plans for BlueOval Battery Park have been put on hold, according to Ford spokesman T.R. Reid, who said that spending has been limited on it.
“There are a number of considerations,” he said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there."
Reid would not say whether the UAW contract negotiations were among the considerations mentioned, according to CNN.
UAW President Shawn Fain blasted Ford’s move on X, formerly Twitter, as “a shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs.”
"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," Fain said. "We are simply asking for a just transition to electric vehicles and Ford is instead doubling down on their race to the bottom.”
EVs require significantly less labor than building gasoline-powered vehicles and the union is concerned that the automakers’ plans to eventually shift to all-electric lineups could lead to more job losses and lower pay.
“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," said Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Biden to join strikers
The news comes as President Joe Biden is set to join UAW members on the picket lines outside a Ford assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan.
Biden, a self-described "union guy", will speak to UAW members at around noon Eastern time on Sept. 26 alongside Fain after throwing his support behind the strike last week.
Historians believe this is the first time a sitting president has joined an ongoing strike.
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner to be the Republican Party's 2024 presidential candidate, is scheduled to address hundreds of workers at a gathering at an auto supplier in a Detroit suburb on Sept. 27.
Around 12,700 workers have been picketing assembly sites around the Midwest, including Wayne, a GM facility in Wentzville, Missouri and a Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
The BlueOval Battery Park has been the source of some controversy.
Ford said the subsidiary would own the factory and employ the workers, while China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, which is known for its lithium-iron-phosphate expertise, would supply technology, some equipment and workers.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin pulled his state out of the running for this project in December, saying the proposal "would serve as a front for the Chinese Communist Party, which could compromise our economic security and Virginians’ personal privacy.”
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