Ford has been granted almost $630 million in incentives to help it establish an electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.
The carmaker’s $3.5 billion project will create 2,500 jobs and license battery technology from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology. Voting on the incentive package passed earlier this month and includes a $330 million appropriation for road and infrastructure improvements to prepare the site for the massive factory. Additionally, the incentives include a $299.7 million appropriation for land acquisition, demolition, tree clearing, and other activities at the site.
Economic development officials in the state have previously approved a $210 million grant for Ford, allocated $36 million to the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance to get the site ready, and issued a 15-year tax abatement valued at $772 million. This means total incentives for the site sit at about $1.6 billion, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Read: China Wary Of Ford’s $3.5B Michigan Battery Factory With CATL
“Let’s continue bringing the supply chain of electric vehicles, chips, and batteries home while creating thousands of good-paying jobs and revitalizing every region of our state,” Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer described. “We’re on the move, so let’s keep our foot on the accelerator.”
While Ford is no doubt very happy with the incentives, not everyone is. State Republican Ann Bollin of the Brighton Township says the incentives represent more than $640,000 per job that will be created.
“This bloated spending plan is a great deal for Ford, and a terrible deal for Michigan taxpayers,” Bollin said. “The return on investment is horrible.”
The Chinese government is also said to hold reservations about the factory. It is wary of CATL’s industry-leading battery technology potentially being given to or accessed by Ford, leading Chinese leaders to ask for extra scrutiny of the deal. Ford says that it will independently own the factory and that CATL’s involvement will be limited to being a “contractual service provider and licensor of technology.”
