An electric vehicle is charged in Ottawa on July 13, 2022. The NextStar electric-vehicle battery plant, being built with up to $15-billion in subsidies from the federal and Ontario governments, is bringing in up to 900 foreign workers.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The company setting up the flagship electric-vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., says that up to 900 technicians from abroad, most of them from South Korea, will be brought in to help with the assembling and installation of specialized equipment at the factory.
The disclosure by NextStar Energy follows an outcry by MPs and local unions that jobs at the factory could go to temporary workers from Korea, stripping promised employment from Canadians.
The NextStar plant, being built with up to $15-billion in subsidies from the federal and Ontario governments, is the largest investment in the history of Canada’s auto sector. The plant is a joint venture between global auto giant Stellantis and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution.
In a statement to The Globe and Mail, NextStar Energy said that about 1,600 original equipment manufacturer technicians, employed by external technology suppliers, will assemble, install and test the specialized equipment needed to make its batteries.
Up to 900 of the technicians will be temporary global staff, predominantly from South Korea, who have specific knowledge of the equipment and will see the installation through, the statement said.
Once that job is done, after three months to a year-and-a-half, the workers would return home.
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Union leaders in Windsor said the city has the skilled labour to do the job, including many with experience installing specialized equipment in auto factories.
Jason Roe, of the Ironworkers Local 700 union, who is also treasurer of the Essex and Kent Building Trades Council, said it was “insulting” to presume the region does not have the skilled labour required.
“We are very insulted to hear we are not capable. This is very frustrating to us because we do this all the time. Give us a set of blueprints and specs and we can build it,” he said. “We have the skills, we do this every day.”
Police in Windsor tweeted last week they are expecting around 1,600 South Koreans to arrive to work on the EV battery plant, which was heralded by the federal government as a major employer of Canadians.
The post followed a meeting with the Korean ambassador to Canada, who visited Windsor with his economic attaché and held meetings with the police and the mayor.
The Korean embassy told The Globe it “understands from NextStar Energy that South Koreans mentioned by Windsor Police on X will be in Canada to assemble and install highly specialized and technical equipment.”
“Once this equipment passes safety tests and training, they will leave Canada. They will have no impact on the permanent local jobs, promised by NextStar Energy, in Windsor,” Sungeun Lee, a spokeswoman for the embassy, said.
The House of Commons industry and technology committee passed a motion this week to study the use of foreign workers at the plant. The MPs will ask to see the contract with Stellantis-LG on the plant “with job numbers unredacted.”
The committee will also summon Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and Immigration Minister Marc Miller to testify along with the chief executive of NextStar, the ambassador of South Korea and Sean Strickland, the director of Canada’s building trades union.
Windsor NDP MP Brian Masse, who is a member of the committee, said it would be “terribly unfortunate” for foreign workers to do equipment installation at the factory when local Canadians with the skills are available to do the work.
He raised fear that there may not be enough local housing available for scores of temporary foreign workers.
Conservative industry critic Rick Perkins brought up the issue in the Commons on Thursday. He said the government should release the contract adding that “Canadians are being forced to pay $15-billion to create jobs that are not even going to Canadians.”
LG Energy Solution has already met with developers and investors in Windsor to discuss the housing needs of the incoming Korean work force in the area, including for rentals.
Invest WindsorEssex, which held the meeting in August, declined to comment on the discussions. But afterward, Joe Goncalves, its vice-president of investment attraction and strategic initiatives, told the Windsor Star that LG is expecting 600 to 1,000 workers will come to set up the equipment; LG will bring another 300 to 500 people to run the facility.
NextStar said in its statement that it “remains committed to creating 2,500 full-time positions in Windsor for Canadians at our new battery facility for decades to come.” It said it also will employ 1,600 Canadian tradespeople, directly and through subcontractors.