U.S. automaker General Motors and Korean chemical giant LG Chem will invest $2.3 billion by 2023 in a new joint venture to create battery cells for electric cars in Lordstown, Ohio.
Construction of the battery cell factory is expected to begin mid-2020 and will create 1,100 jobs, which GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra called a “significant investment.”
Barra told reporters Thursday, “General Motors believes in the science of global warming” and is, therefore, investing in creating high quality, reliable vehicles.
“What you’re hearing from GM is a commitment to electric vehicles ... to drive adoption,” she said.
GM is still on track to have 20 million electric cars on the road by 2023, Barra said, and the plant will “play a key role” in the company’s goal to move toward “a world with zero emissions.” The new plant will have an annual capacity of more than 30 gigawatt hours.
The new facility will be built in the Lordstown-area where GM closed a production plant in March. The closure marked a loss for President Trump, who had worked to keep the site open in an effort to support American manufacturing. It also created concerns about the communitiy’s economic future, which relied heavily on the plant for employment.
While Barra said Ohio had “earned [the project] because of their capabilities,” Barra confirmed the state had offered the company incentives but did not offer further details.
“We think as we do this in a joint fashion ... [it]will allow us to win in the electric vehicle space,” said Barra. “We think we can bring together the expertise of both our companies and advance it more quickly.”
Further, she said, “We believe it will accelerate EV adoption,” and called this a “critical juncture to create an all-electric future.”
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
