Another electric vehicle startup is struggling in the face of a difficult EV market.
Read the full storyElectric Vehicle Startup Canoo Furloughs Workers as it Struggles to Raise Money
Tag: Ford Motor Company
Ford Drops Certain Equipment Requirements for EVs as Sales Continue to Struggle
Ford Motor Company told dealers on Thursday that it was dropping certain equipment requirements to boost the sales of its struggling electric vehicle (EV) line, according to Bloomberg.
Dealers had previously needed to invest up to $1.2 million in certain equipment like chargers in order to be eligible to sell Ford’s EV line, with the change allowing all 2,800 dealerships with contracts to the company to sell EVs, according to Bloomberg. The changes to the program are intended to boost struggling sales of Ford’s EV models, which has contributed to the automaker taking a $1.3 billion loss on its EV production in just the first quarter of 2024 after selling only 10,000 vehicles.
Read the full storyFord Shareholders Reject Proposal to Audit Child Labor in Electric Vehicle Supply Chain
Shareholders at auto manufacturing giant Ford Motor Co. voted down a proposal Thursday requiring that a report be compiled on the use of child labor in its electric vehicle (EV) line.
The proposal, which was presented by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) at Ford’s annual shareholder meeting, called for Ford to report to shareholders the extent to which the company’s EV supply chain involves, depends or relies on child labor outside of the U.S., according to Ford’s proxy statement. The NCPPR called for the report due to the prevalence of child labor in the harvesting of the components used to craft EVs, particularly cobalt, which is commonly sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Read the full storyCommentary: Chattanooga VW Workers Need to Be Wary of the UAW’s Push to Unionize Plant
Like a bad penny, the UAW keeps popping up in Chattanooga, trying to stand in the way of a healthy relationship between workers and Volkswagen (VW). In two consecutive union campaigns, in 2014 and again in 2019, the UAW failed to gain the confidence of workers. Unfortunately, they’re at it again, rushing to scoop up workers at the Volkswagen plant.
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden Administration Moves to Empower Government to Take Intellectual Property, Inventions, and Medicines
Inventors figure out how to create something that is better than what existed before, and then protect their rights to the idea/creation with a patent. This is a fundamental principle of private property, one which our nation’s entire economic system is based.
The U.S. Constitution enshrines this basic idea into the DNA of our nation as Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 known as the Patent and Copyright Clause plainly states, “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
Read the full storyAfter $1.7B Taxpayer Subsidy, Ford to Lay Off Workers
After Michigan taxpayers gave $1.75 billion for Ford’s Marshall electric vehicle factory, the company will lay off workers.
Michigan gave the money under the promise of creating 2,500 jobs, but the company cut 3,000 jobs last summer and expects a $3 billion loss on EVs in 2023. After those job cuts, a Ford spokesman said the company has nothing to announce.
Read the full storySurprise $750 Million Ask for Ford Site Prep Confounds Michigan Lawmakers
When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Ford’s new $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant last week, her office’s news release said it would cost taxpayers $1 billion.
Nine days later, state officials asked for $750 million more to prep the Marshall site – bringing the possible total cost, if approved by lawmakers, to $1.75 billion.
Read the full storyYoungkin Nixes Ford Battery Plant Over Partnership with Chinese Company
Governor Glenn Youngkin blocked Virginia from consideration for a battery plant to supply Ford Motor Company amid concerns about the technology supplied by a Chinese company, he told reporters on Wednesday.
In a press gaggle, Youngkin criticized a clean energy push that relied on technology “owned and dominated by the Chinese.”
“Well, we in fact felt that the recent efforts to put forward a Ford plant that would house Chinese technology to build the batteries was in fact representative of that. And that we felt the right thing to do was to not recruit Ford as a front for China to America. Let’s develop our own technology,” Youngkin said after his State of the Commonwealth speech.
Read the full storyFord Breaks Ground on BlueOval City in West Tennessee
Ford broke ground on BlueOval City, a new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility, on Friday less than a year after the company first announced the project.
Read the full storyReport: Large Economic Incentives Like in Tennessee Benefit Politicians Who Approved Them
Economic incentives from states such as Tennessee toward private businesses looking to move to the state continue to increase.
But academic research shows that the largest impact of the spending of public dollars is to bring political and financial benefit to the politicians who approve those incentives.
Read the full storyVentcon, Inc. Announces $6.7 Million Investment in Madison County
Ventcon, Inc. officials announced on Tuesday that the company will invest $6.7 million in Madison County to establish its first manufacturing operations outside of the company’s headquarters in Allen Park, Michigan.
Read the full storyState of Tennessee Wins First-Ever ‘Platinum Shovel Award’ for Outstanding Economic Development Efforts
The State of Tennessee was recently honored at Area Development’s annual Shovel Awards by being the recipient of the first-ever ‘Platinum Shovel’ which “recognizes states that went beyond the Gold standard for job creation and investment.”
Read the full storyTennessee Legislature Passes Contract Transparency Bill for Megasite Construction Contracts
The Tennessee Legislature reached an agreement on a bill that could provide more transparency on construction contracts with Ford’s Blue Oval City megasite development in west Tennessee.
The bill could require construction contractors doing more than $100,000 of work at Blue Oval City to disclose details such as number of employees, the state of residence for each worker, union affiliation (if any) and the work they performed to the state building commission and the speakers of both legislative chambers quarterly.
Read the full storyFord Motor Company, University of Tennessee Commit to Multimillion Dollar Partnership
Ford Motor Company and the University of Tennessee announced a new partnership for “a stream mitigation and restoration agreement” that will focus on water streams located on the University’s Lone Oaks Farm.
Lone Oaks Farm is located in West Tennessee and serves as a 4-H and science, technology, education, and math (STEM) education center for K-12 students.
Read the full storyHouse Speaker Cameron Sexton Answers Questions on Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Omnibus, and Ford
Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to weigh in on OSHA vaccine mandate and its relation to the Omnibus Bill from last weeks special session in the General Assembly.
Read the full storyTennessee State Representative Chris Hurt Talks Ford Deal Points and Growth for West Tennessean’s
Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee State Representative (R-82) Chris Hurt to the newsmakers line to discuss the success of the Ford Megasite deal while working through session.
Read the full storyTennessee State Representative Chris Todd Talks Mechanics and Concerns of New Ford Motor Mega Site Deal
Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed State Representative (R-73) Chris Todd to the newsmakers line to discuss the mechanics of the For Motor Megasite deal.
Read the full storyHost Michael Patrick Leahy and All-Star Panelist Crom Carmichael on Pros and Cons of New Ford Motor Site
Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to weigh in on the Ford Motor Company’s new Mega Site location outside of Memphis.
Read the full storyHouse Speaker Cameron Sexton Discusses the Upcoming Special Session
Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to discuss the items that will be on the next special session call.
Read the full storyGov. Whitmer Calls on Lawmakers to Boost Michigan Economic Development Corporation Funding
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the Legislature to provide more taxpayer money to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to attract businesses, but an economic development analyst and GOP leader disagree.
Citing Ford Motor Company choosing Kentucky and Tennessee to build electric vehicle battery plants instead of its home state, Whitmer called on legislative leaders to give the MEDC “more resources and more advanced procedural and legal tools” to pursue projects.
Read the full storyMichigan Missing Out on Ford’s Joint $11.4B Electric Vehicle Factories in Tennessee, Kentucky
Despite Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s claim that Michigan is the future of electric vehicles (EVs), Ford Motor Company and battery maker SK Innovation announced plans to build three new plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The new plants, which will host production of electric vehicles and advanced lithium-ion batteries by 2025, will cost roughly $11.4 billion to build and create a projected 11,000 jobs.
Read the full storyReddit Bans Pro-Trump Group in Latest Attack on Conservative Speech
Reddit, one of the top internet sites in the world, on Monday banned a major pro-President Donald Trump group that had about 800,000 members, citing “hate speech.”
Read the full storyCountry Music Hall of Fame and Museum Offers a Day of Free Admission
Runaway June to headline a full day of activity that includes Songwriter Sessions with Pat Alger and Jamie Floyd, a Musician Spotlight with Dom Flemons, Hatch Show Print demonstrations and more.
Read the full storyFord, Chinese Firm to Invest $756 Million on Electric Cars
US auto stalwart Ford announced on Wednesday a $756 million investment with its Chinese joint venture to produce electric cars, just as US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for thorny trade talks. Ford’s investment with Zotye comes as China has signalled it plans to force gas-guzzling vehicles off the road, though the country has yet…
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