It was planning a $3.6 billion plant to create 2,500 jobs in the Berry Hill, Virginia area. But Governor Glenn Youngkin told Ford to go elsewhere. That’s because Ford’s massive investment was being made in conjunction with China’s contemporary Amperex technology. It is the largest battery manufacturer in the world.
Why did Virginia’s governor say that about Ford?
In December, a spokesperson for Yongkin said, “While Ford is a well-known American company, it has become clear that this proposal would be a front for the Chinese Communist Party, which could endanger our economic security and the personal privacy of Virginians.” Youngkin campaigned he would bring about economic development and manufacturing jobs in rural Virginia. He must not realize that 13.1 percent of those who live in Pennsylvania County, where Berry Hill is located, live below the poverty line, according to .
factory so far. Ford is behind only Tesla in producing the most electric cars in the United States
“Virginians can be confident that companies with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party will not get a boost from the Commonwealth’s economic stimulus packages,” a Younkin spokesperson added. “When the potentially harmful effects of the deal were realized, the plant proposal did not reach the stage of final discussion.”
In Florida, around the same time as Yongkin’s announcement, its governor was asking the state legislature to prevent Chinese entities from buying land. And though there may or may not have been a coincidence, Youngkin has continued to spark a presidential bid in 2024. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. DeSantis leads all other Republicans in politics as the party’s presidential nominee in 2024.
Where will this plant eventually be built?
“Depriving people of community jobs because you’re in last place in the Republican primary is gubernatorial misconduct,” said Sen. Scott Soroville, D-Fairfax. “I mean, it’s pretty clear to me that the governor is in some sort of bashing competition outside of China with DeSantis and Governor Greg Abbott outside of Texas.”
It’s hard to imagine that with 85 percent of the population having a secondary education and 13.1 percent below the poverty line, this news is welcome. It is also difficult to imagine that China does not already have many sources of classified information in the United States, but we will leave these conclusions to the citizens of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Ford is looking at sites in and around Michigan to build its next mega-plant.
