“We are working as fast as we can to finalize as much as we can — to get the commitments in contract with all of those who have been selected,” U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in an interview on the sidelines of a Reuters Next conference.
“We have a few months to make sure that we’re doing that,” she added.
The Department of Energy of US (DOE) announced plans in July to award General Motors (US), 500 million dollars to convert its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan to electric vehicles (EVs) at an unspecified future date and to award Chrysler-parent Stellantis 334.8 million dollars to convert its shuttered Belvidere Assembly plant to build EVs and 250 million dollars to convert its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo to produce EV components.
The United Auto Workers has threatened strikes over Stellantis delays in the planned Belvidere investment, which has prompted Stellantis to file suits to prevent work stoppages.
Asked about the delay, Granholm said “there’s a whole array of considerations with respect to that and we are in conversation about it.“
Earlier this month, UAW President Shawn Fain said hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs were at stake if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 election and made good on his threat to repeal investments in electric vehicles.
Democrats have seized on Trump’s running mate, US Senator JD Vance of Ohio, declining to commit to maintaining the 500 million dollars GM grant.
A GM spokesperson said it is “still in the negotiation phase of the grant” and declined to forecast what might happen if the grant was not approved.
Stellantis did not immediately comment.
GM shares were up 9.7% Tuesday afternoon, while Stellantis shares were up 0.5%.
