Nearly 200 suddenly laid off at NextStar EV battery plant in Windsor: Contractor

Some workers at the NextStar Energy electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., have been abruptly laid off, according to the contractor for which they worked. 

Eric Farron, vice president of operations at Sylvan Canada, said Friday that nearly 200 of the company's workers at the facility — 145 millwrights and ironworkers, 45 electricians, and three pipe fitters — were affected. 

Farron said the firm was told to "immediately demobilize" on Thursday night, and that the workers still had a significant amount of work left to complete. 

Mike Meloche, business agent for UA Local 527 — which represents plumbers, steamfitters, and welders in southwestern Ontario — said "a lot of guys" at the plant had been sent home Friday and that some had been told not to return until Wednesday.

NextStar, a $5-billion joint venture between automaker Stellantis and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution, said its employees and operations are unaffected by the decision.

"Change in works are a standard part of operations and reflect ongoing efforts to align project needs," spokesperson Daniela Ferro said in a statement. "The company looks forward to the successful completion of the NextStar Energy site."

Ferro did not clarify what those changes were, what caused them, or whether the layoffs were temporary or not.

Construction on the sprawling east end battery plant, the first of its kind in Canada, began in 2022. Work at the site paused in 2023 in light of fresh incentives for EV battery production south of the border, leading the provincial and federal governments to pledge $15 billion in tax breaks to keep the project alive. 

The companies have said the plant will eventually employ 2,500 people and supply batteries for up to 450,000 Stellantis vehicles annually. 

The facility started producing battery modules in October. The company's CEO previously said he expected production on the battery cells themselves to start this fall.

Since then, reported slowdowns in the EV market and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on the auto industry have led to uncertainty for other EV projects and plants in Canada.