MARSHALL, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Officials with Ford Motor Company announced Monday they are pausing work on a multi-billion dollar electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall.
Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Detroit Free Press “We’re pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall site, effective today, until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant. We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there.”
Earlier this year Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Ford CEO Jim Farley announced a plan to invest $3.5 billion and create 2,500 jobs at the site just west of the I-69 and I-94 intersection. As part of the deal, Whitmer, state lawmakers, and local officials agreed to provide the automaker a combined $1.7 billion in public subsidies.
At the time Whitmer said large electric vehicle projects like the Ford battery plant were a key component of her administration’s approach to revitalizing the state’s economy.
The project in Marshall prompted pushback from many in the community, including lawsuits from city residents, who questioned the rezoning of the property and asked for a public vote.
The 2.5-million-square-foot battery park was to be run by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford called “Blue Oval Battery Park Michigan.” The plant would employ 2,500 people with pay ranging from $20 to $50 an hour.
Michigan House Republican Leader Matt Hall of Richland Township Monday said, “After failing to land other high-profile Ford deals, Governor Whitmer gave away the store to bring Ford to Marshall. But with Democrats pushing policies that make Michigan less competitive, the $1.7 billion in subsidies and tax incentives still fell short.”
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