Stellantis moving ahead with Windsor EV plant despite ‘bump’ in negotiations: source | CBC News

A government source says the spectre of Stellantis pulling out of its new electric vehicle battery plant out of Windsor is merely a “bump” in negotiations, and that there’s no real danger of the company stopping the project.

The Toronto Star reported Friday afternoon that there were fears the company would pull out of the project if the province and feds didn’t hand over more money. This comes after the federal government offered Volkswagen about $13 billion in production subsidies to build a new plant near St. Thomas, Ont. 

A source close to the matter, who spoke to CBC News on condition they not be named, told CBC Windsor there’s no reason to panic. The Windsor plant, which will mean thousands of jobs for Windsor-Essex, is still moving forward. 

Chrystia Freeland, minister of finance, also said Ottawa is working “very, very hard” on Stellantis negotiations. 

“We are very focused on it,” she said Friday. “We understand the value of this investment in Canada.”

Freeland said the federal government “expect(s) provinces to do their part to attract investment.”

CBC Windsor is pursuing comment from Stellantis. But Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, says he’s not worried either. 

“This Stellantis deal underpins two 5,000 job auto plants, a 2,500 job EV battery plant and a 650-person [research and development] headquarters,” he tweeted.

“It’s a super footprint that’s globally competitive and has 20,000 supplier jobs attached. This will get done — I am not worried — and we will continue growing in Canada.”

Windsor’s EV battery plant is already under construction. It will employ about 2,500 people when it opens next year.

Volkswagen will begin production in St. Thomas in 2027. The number of jobs is still unknown, but industry leaders say it could be in the thousands. The manufacturer calls it its first overseas “gigafactory” for battery cell manufacturing. 

François-Philippe Champagne is Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry.

In a statement, his spokesperson says negotiations continue.

“The auto industry is crucial to the Canadian economy and to the hundreds of thousands of Canadian workers in this sector. That’s why Minister Champagne has worked tirelessly to secure the future of Canada’s auto industry,” his office said in an email. 

“We continue to negotiate in good faith with our partners.  Our top priority is and remains getting the best deal for Canadians.”