David Dermer/AP Photo
A Lordstown Motors employee works on assembling the cab of an Endurance electric truck, June 22, 2021, in Lordstown, Ohio.
This article appears in The American Prospect magazine’s February 2022 special issue, “How We Broke the Supply Chain.” Subscribe here.
In December, General Motors and POSCO Chemical announced plans for a North American plant that can manufacture cathodes—an important component of electric-vehicle batteries. One of the plant’s first confirmed customers is Ultium Cells, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer in Lordstown, Ohio, partly owned by General Motors. This battery factory is destined to supply batteries to General Motors’ former Lordstown automobile plant, located right next door and soon to be jointly operated by Lordstown Motors and Foxconn. The 6.2 million-square-foot facility will be used to manufacture the Endurance pickup truck, an electric vehicle that allegedly has 100,000 preorders from commercial customers, though there is compelling evidence that this figure is inflated.
The rush of new projects is a reprieve in Lordstown’s struggle against deindustrialization. In late 2018, less than two years after autoworkers granted over $100 million in concessions to General Motors, the factory was abruptly shuttered, leaving Lordstown without its largest employer. Since then, the 3,300 laid-off workers have struggled to find meaningful work.
The arrival of electric-vehicle companies has brought a cautious sense of optimism to the town. Some have taken to calling Ohio’s Mahoning Valley the “Voltage Valley.”
Ultium Cells is hiring for 1,100 new jobs, though they are not well suited to the local workforce, who lack the knowledge of chemistry needed for manufacturing batteries. The company thus far is heavily relying on new graduates from nearby Youngstown State University.
The former autoworkers’ hopes, therefore, lie with the old General Motors plant. In the summer of 2022, it is set to fully reopen under the ownership of Foxconn, which has become the contract manufacturer for Lordstown Motors’ Endurance pickup. Lordstown Motors currently employs about 560 workers, but more jobs are expected once the plant opens for commercial production. However, autoworkers are concerned that job creation could be underwhelming, as electric-vehicle production requires fewer parts and assembly line workers than standard automobiles.
UAW Local 1112, which has represented the plant’s workers since the 1960s, is fighting to represent the workers in both the battery and automobile plants, but has received an ambiguous response from Ultium Cells and Lordstown Motors. General Motors, which has a significant stake in both firms and used to employ members of Local 1112, has also been standoffish. One point of contention is whether the union will need a simple card check, where workers simply sign an authorization form stating they want a union, or a traditional vote to gain recognition. The union does have some powerful allies. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) has expressed his hope that workers will have a seat at the table. And President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill proposed giving greater subsidies to American consumers who purchase union-built electric cars.
This is all contingent on Lordstown Motors’ ability to get production under way. The firm has already delayed delivery deadlines, seen a CEO resign over allegations of lying, and struggled to cope with supply chain issues, though its arrangement with Foxconn seems to have given it new vitality. Foxconn’s other partner at the plant, Fisker, Inc., plans to produce over 150,000 electric vehicles annually beginning in 2024. While the future is uncertain, the electric-vehicle firms settling down in Lordstown provide hope for a reshored supply chain that is clean, green, and unionized.
