On the heels of last week’s PowerCo announcement, MP Andrew Lawton cautioned that the community has the right to know what’s being done to ensure that the jobs that were promised materialize.
Especially in light of the federal government offering up to $13 billion in subsidies.
Last Thursday, Powerco announced production at the massive EV battery factory in St. Thomas has now been pushed back until some time in 2029, although the move is not being categorized as a step back.
Lawton, Conservative MP for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South said it is important to acknowledge work is proceeding at the site
Lawton added, however, that people want assurances that there will be real movement on the $7 billion gigafactory.
He stressed, “We know that this plant was meant to serve two EV plants in the U.S., one of which is no longer doing EVs. And I think that was when a lot of people locally started to wonder what reassurances we were going to get.”
Lawton reiterated he welcomes the jobs associated with the gigafactory, however what are the full implications of this two-year delay?
“I think the community has a right to be assured, not just by PowerCo and Volkswagen, but also by multiple levels of government that have been involved and invested in this project.
“Let me say, just lest there be any doubt, I welcome anything that creates jobs in the community. I just want to make sure we have a viable path forward for those jobs. And I know that some folks in the auto industry have been just very skeptical in general of the EV market and any plans predicated on a belief that that market will bloom because we just haven’t seen that on paper.
“And if Volkswagen wants to wait and see, fine. We just want to know what the implications are going to be for us locally.”
Written by Ian McCallum
