In Trouble With The Labor Union, Ford Temporarily Stops Construction Of A 3.5 Billion US Dollar Battery Cell Factory In Michigan

The production plant of F-150 Lightning at the firehouse Electric Vehicle Center. (Doc. Ford)

JAKARTA - Ford Motor Company has finally decided to temporarily suspend construction of a US$3.5 billion battery cell factory in Marshall, Michigan, since September 25.

This decision was taken by the automotive manufacturer citing concerns about its ability to run the factory competitively, especially in the middle of a wider contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union.

This decision temporarily ended a dispute with residents around the factories that had been going on for months, as well as the issue of protests by Republican members of Congress regarding the use of factory lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology from Chinese company CATL, as well as the impact of the automotive industry strike that has entered its second week.

"We are temporarily suspending work, and we will limit spending on construction in Marshall until we are confident in our ability to run the plant competitively," Ford spokesman TR Reid told The Detroit News, reported by InsideEvs, September 26.

Reid added that Ford's business decision was based on a number of considerations, but he did not say whether the ongoing United Auto Workers strike against Detroit Three was a factor that affected this decision.

Ford announced this decision ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to Michigan today, September 26, to support UAW workers on strike at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. The following day, former President Donald Trump plans to hold a town hall-type event in Macomb Regency to woo automotive workers who according to him their work is in danger of transitioning to electric vehicles.

UAW president Shawn Fain has criticized Ford for the decision to temporarily suspend the construction of the Michigan battery plant, calling it a nearly blatant threat by Ford to reduce employment opportunities when the automotive manufacturer is in tough negotiations with labor unions.

"Stopping 65 factories over the past 20 years is not enough for Big Three, now they want to threaten us by closing factories that are not even operational yet. We only ask for a fair transition to electric vehicles and Ford will even double their efforts in the competition down," he concluded.