Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was warned last month that auto giant Stellantis might scrap a $5-billion electric-vehicle battery factory in Windsor if Ottawa refused to match U.S.-style subsidies given to Volkswagen in St. Thomas, Ont., the Star has learned.
In a letter dated April 19, the heads of Stellantis and Korea-based LG Energy Solution — the two companies in a joint venture — told Trudeau the project was in jeopardy if he did not honour what the company says was a promise in writing to close the “competitive gap posed by the U.S. legislation.”
Stellantis upped the ante Monday in a high-stakes negotiation that has been going on for months behind closed doors and halted construction on the facility that’s supposed to open next year and employ 2,500 workers.
