Global car manufacturing is in a downward spin, and new money can only be found in the accounts of national governments

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Stellantis is walking towards a bankruptcy wall in the near future. The Swedish lithium battery manufacturer, heralded by many to be the leader in such battery development, and the poster boy for the Green Movement in the EU stands on the brink of collapsing. Global car manufacturing is in a downward spin these days and new money can only be found in the accounts of national governments. It seems threatening to drop many of its unprofitable brands in the near future.

Oh, did I mention national governments? Aren’t the Canadian and Ontario governments investing heavily in projects partnered with Stellantis? This firm has invested heavily in the design, marketing and preparation of factories for the production of electric cars all over the world, like: Serbia, Hungary, Mexico, the EU and yes in Ontario as well. Now Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has resigned. Confusion has hit the marketplace, and insecurity sets in as to where this firm is going, whether its plants will produce much needed batteries in the near future or close.

Yes folks, our government has invested heavily in these corporations, drawing out promises of much hiring, increased production, add-ons to secondary industries. Promises that may never come to fruition. To further complicate things, there is a shift in the fields of economic and tariff policies in North America. Economic nationalism has shown its face to add to future complications.

What happens if these manufacturing plants are established and in the near future forced to close because of global and financial demands upon these firms? Well, the regions they are in will have to deal with it: socially, financially and politically. Can these firms stand up to Chinese and Indian innovation and competitiveness? Probably not, and where will the fault of these closures fall onto? Can the regions that shelled out billions have something to fall back upon, guarantees perhaps? Well, who the heck knows?

Ontario’s agreements, along with agreements in Serbia, Mexico and elsewhere are hidden in secrecy where the public has neither transparency, nor accountability. Corporate handouts like these have no assurances. The folks who negotiated these agreements like Premier Ford and Canada’s Ministers of Economic Development are free and clear, with no obligation to defend their actions and the possible actions of often unaccountable corporations.

All the while China stands prepared to take these factories off the hands of European and North American corporate opportunists. Greed, possible subterfuge and unending legalities face the public’s attempt to know what is truly happening in their own social and political backyards.