GM’s Mary Barra is no longer the highest-paid CEO of the Detroit 3
General Motors CEO Mary Barra’s compensation fell 4% last year compared to 2022.
General Motors and South Korean company Samsung SDI have completed the joint venture announced a year ago and confirmed that they will invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery factory in northern Indiana.
However, as consumer adoption of electric vehicles is slower than expected, companies will delay the start of battery cell production to 2027. A start date of 2025 was originally targeted, but was later pushed back to 2026.
Nevertheless, GM CEO Mary Barra remained confident on Wednesday that this joint venture was the right step and timing, saying the market for electric vehicles would grow.
“The Samsung SDI joint venture is the latest example of GM’s commitment to driving innovation in America,” Barra said in a statement Wednesday. “The EV market and GM sales will continue to grow as more customers experience our EVs, charging infrastructure expands and we expand into additional segments.”
Confirmation of the signed contract with Samsung SDI was shared on LinkedIn on Tuesday evening by Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery cells and packs.
“This agreement will bring high-skilled, high-tech jobs to Indiana and support our plan to build a resilient electric vehicle supply chain in North America,” Kelty wrote.
Regarding the start of production in 2027, GM spokesman Kevin Kelly told the Detroit Free Press: “We are adjusting the production timing based on our expectations regarding demand for electric vehicles.”
The plant is expected to employ 1,600 people
Electric vehicle sales in the U.S. are rising but have slowed as some car buyers worry about the lack of charging infrastructure and higher EV prices. Still, U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 11.3% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, reaching a record 330,463, according to Kelley Blue Book. That growth is partly due to improved availability, higher rebates and more leasing.
Kelty said the Indiana plant will build nickel-rich battery cells that will help GM “continue to increase performance and reduce costs well into the future,” Kelty wrote.
In June 2023, the Free Press reported that the new plant will be on the same 686-acre site in New Carlisle, Indiana — about 15 miles west of South Bend — that was originally considered in August 2022 for Ultium Cells LLC, GM’s other joint venture with battery cell maker LG Energy Solution. GM has two battery plants with LG — one near Lordstown, Ohio, and another in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Ultium Cells is building a third in Lansing. But in January 2023, GM said it would split with LG on the fourth plant.
“GM’s electric vehicle supply chain strategy is focused on scalability, resilience, sustainability and cost competitiveness. Our new relationship with Samsung SDI will help us achieve all of these goals,” Barra said in April 2023, when GM first confirmed a partnership was in the works. “The cells we will build together will help us increase our electric vehicle capacity in North America to well over 1 million units per year.”
Construction of the plant, which has already begun, should create 1,000 new jobs. Kelly said the plant is expected to create about 1,600 new jobs, slightly less than GM’s original expectation of 1,700.
Kelty wrote on LinkedIn that Ultium Cells has created “thousands of jobs” at its two existing battery cell plants in America. GM uses the battery cells made at those two plants to power GM’s latest electric vehicles: the Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq; the Chevrolet Blazer, Equinox and Silverado electric vehicles; the GMC Hummer pickup truck and SUV; and the GMC Sierra EV, which just went on sale. Battery cells from those plants will also power the upcoming Cadillac Escalade IQ and Cadillac Optiq electric vehicles, which are scheduled to launch later this year. “Together with LGES and Samsung SDI, we are creating a more North American-focused electric vehicle technology and manufacturing ecosystem,” Kelty wrote. “This is critical in many ways, including making electric vehicles better and more affordable for our customers.”
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Subscribe. Read more about General Motors and subscribe to our auto newsletter. Become a subscriber.
