GM pulls out of Lansing battery plant deal; GOP calls move betrayal to taxpayers

With the construction of the Ultium Cells LLC battery cell plant in Lansing nearly finished, General Motors announced it will sell back its stake to its joint venture partner LG Energy Solution.

According to a news release, the transaction does not change GM’s ownership interest in the Ultium Cells LLC project, in which GM and LG have invested a total of $7 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars, sourced from a Department of Energy loan program.

"Our EV profitability is rapidly improving thanks in part to our strategic decision to build battery cells in the U.S. with LG Energy Solution,” GM executive vice president and CFO Paul Jacobson said. "We believe we have the right cell and manufacturing capabilities in place to grow with the EV market in a capital efficient manner. When completed, this transaction will also help LG Energy Solution meet demand by leveraging capacity that's nearly ready to come online and it will make GM even more efficient."

GM’s reasoning is that the other battery plants covered by the project – one in Warren, Ohio, and the other in Spring Hill, Tennessee – are enough to meet the demand for electric vehicles.

Even though its investment was funded by taxpayers, GM said it “expects to recoup its investment” in the Lansing facility.

Michigan House Speaker-elect Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, blasted GM’s decision to pull out of the Lansing assembly plan as a betrayal to Michigan workers and U.S. taxpayers.

“General Motors is demonstrating, once again, a troubling pattern of fleecing Michigan taxpayers and workers,” Hall said in a statement. “Cutting a side deal to pull out of Michigan and keeping taxpayer money is egregious, especially as they continue to kill family-sustaining jobs in the process and seek taxpayer support to redevelop the Renaissance Center.

“Simply put, if these are not GM jobs, the company should give back all the taxpayer money.”

Ultium Cells Lansing currently employs nearly 100 workers. GM and LG say the location remains on track to meet its previously announced employment commitment of 1,700 jobs.