Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tours the Stellantis Windsor (Chrysler) Assembly plant in Windsor, Ont., Tuesday, January 17, 2023. NextStar Energy says it expects upwards of 900 foreign workers to come in to help build its heavily-subsidized battery plant in Windsor. The company, joint-owned by Stellantis and South Korea-based LG Corp., says the global staff will be part of the roughly 1,600 technicians its external suppliers will use to assemble, install and test specialized equipment.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne
WINDSOR, Ont. – NextStar Energy Inc. says it expects upwards of 900 foreign workers to help build its heavily-subsidized battery plant in Windsor, Ont.
The company, joint-owned by Stellantis and South Korea-based LG Corp., says the temporary global staff will be part of the roughly 1,600 technicians its external suppliers will use to assemble, install and test specialized equipment.
The estimates come a week after Windsor police posted on social media that upwards of 1,600 South Koreans would be coming to help build the plant, raising concerns from labour leaders and politicians about how many local jobs would be created by the plant.
NextStar says it remains committed to creating 2,500 full-time jobs for Canadians to run the plant once complete, and that the construction company it has contracted will employ 1,600 Canadian tradespeople directly and through subcontractors.
Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said earlier this week that he expects the company will bring in a few foreign workers to help with the project, but expects the company to prioritize Canadian workers.
The battery plant is expected to draw upwards of $15 billion in government funding through incentives linked partially to how many batteries it produces.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2023.
