Very little activity is seen at the EV battery plant site in east Windsor, after Stellantis confirmed construction had stopped, May 15, 2023. Photo by Mark Brown/WindsorNewsToday.ca.Very little activity is seen at the EV battery plant site in east Windsor, after Stellantis confirmed construction had stopped, May 15, 2023. Photo by Mark Brown/WindsorNewsToday.ca.
Windsor

Stellantis has offer in hand

The federal government has presented Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions with an offer to save the NextStar EV battery plant in Windsor.

Stellantis spokesperson Lou Ann Gosselin confirmed the offer on Tuesday morning.

"Stellantis and LGES are in receipt of a written offer that is currently under financial and legal review," she wrote to WindsorNewsToday.ca in an email. "We have nothing further to add at this time."

Anxiety over the future of the Windsor plant has been growing for weeks after Stellantis accused the federal government of not living up to its promises. Gosselin issued a statement saying the company was reviewing its contingency plans, and construction came to an abrupt halt at the site of the module plant.

The Toronto Star reported a tentative deal on May 31, offering Stellantis more than $13-billion in incentives, but the company responded it had not received an offer in writing.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens gathers regional stakeholders to show support for NextStar Energy battery facility, May 29, 2023. (Photo by Maureen Revait) Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens gathers regional stakeholders to show support for NextStar Energy battery facility, May 29, 2023. (Photo by Maureen Revait)

Since then, Windsor City Council passed a resolution calling for an end to the impasse, Mayor Drew Dilkens launched an online petition, and Unifor National President Lana Payne urged an announcement one way or the other to end the uncertainty for her members at Stellantis plants in Windsor and Brampton.

Officials from the federal and provincial governments, Stellantis, and Korean-based LG Energy Solutions announced the plant with much fanfare in March 2022. At the time, government subsidies amounted to more than $5-billion.

Last August, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act into law, legislation described by Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk as a game changer for any government attempting to woo investment. The bill offered investors far more generous incentives.

The Act was established when the federal and provincial governments announced Volkswagen would get $13.2-billion in support for its new gigafactory in St. Thomas.

This time, there is no word how big the government offer is, but what is known is that Ontario has boosted its contribution. Premier Doug Ford confirmed to reporters in Kingsville last week his government was paying a third of the cost.

WindsorNewsToday.ca has reached out for comment from Dilkens, but has been informed he is in an all-day meeting.

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