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A multinational automaker prepared to lay off more than 2,000 American workers in August after benefiting handsomely from the Biden administration's subsidies for electric-vehicle production:
Stellantis, the parent company to famous brands like Ram and Jeep, has been awarded hundreds of millions in grants from the federal government to promote its EV manufacturing. But the Biden administration's largesse has not prevented the company from laying off American workers.
In July, the Department of Energy awarded Stellantis subsidiary Chrysler a $334.8 million grant to convert a shuttered Illinois plant into a facility for building EVs and another $250 million grant to make a ...(aaaand, paywall)
The AP ran a story a few weeks ago foreshadowing this action:
The statement comes as the company faces increased capital spending to make the transition from gasoline vehicles to electric autos. It also has reported declining U.S. sales in the first quarter, and it has higher costs due to a new contract agreement reached last year with the United Auto Workers union. Stellantis has about 43,000 factory workers.
[...] Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has said his company has to work on cutting costs globally in order to keep electric vehicles affordable for the middle class. Electric vehicles, he has said, cost about 40% more than those powered by gasoline. Without cost reductions, EVs will be too expensive for the middle class, shrinking the market and driving costs up more, Tavares has said.
I've been working on cars for most of my life and my observation is Chrysler/Ram are the worst vehicles on the road. I also own two Jeeps that are 50+ years old, however Chrysler has ruined the Jeep name by what I assume is cutting corners to save money because they're poorly designed and flimsy. Interesting the powers that be at Stellantis don't seem to be concerned about these issues.
Previously: Chrysler to Go All-Electric by 2028, Starting with the Airflow in 2025
Related:
• General Motors Lays Off Hundreds Of US Workers
• Tesla Lays Off 'More Than 10%' of its Global Workforce
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Wednesday September 11 2024, @12:44PM
Nope, from somewhere where electricity prices go negative when the wind blows and the sun shines.
You still have to pay for the supply - all that infrastructure needs building, maintaining, and expanding, but the price of power delivered over that infrastructure is rather variable, and is trending down.
Obviously, when the sun doesn't shine, it's cold, and the wind doesn't blow (or blows too hard) there are problems, so power is imported from other places (nuclear, coal and gas), and the price spikes - easily to 10 times the long-term average. That is going to get much worse before it gets better. But the long term price trend for electrical power is down.
The growth of solar has outpaced even the most optimistic experts' predictions.
Don't get me wrong: covering the gaps when there's a stable high pressure system over Europe in winter is a challenge that cannot be met by renewables alone, now, or in the foreseeable future, and will require a breakthrough in 'grid-level' storage. However, the long-term trend in the average cost of electricity is down.
You are right: governments don't want to give up the revenue stream from taxing fuel and cars. They are in the game of plucking the goose with the minimum of hisses (Jean-Baptiste Colbert). You want the freedom a private vehicle gives you? You are going to pay.