Speeding grants and other subsidies to fund conversion of existing auto plants to build electric vehicles could help the White House blunt criticism from auto makers and the United Auto Workers union over proposed environmental rules aimed to help usher in the EV era.
The goal is to preserve existing jobs, including union jobs and wages, and"work opportunities in communities that have been powering our automotive economy for decades," it said. The Biden administration, as part of its goal of decarbonizing the economy by 2050, is pushing the U.S. auto industry to accelerate a transition to EVs. The Environmental Protection Agency in April proposed rules that could result in as much as two-thirds of the new vehicle market shifting to EVs by 2032.
The UAW has warned such a rapid change could put thousands of jobs at risk in states such as Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Shawn Fain, the UAW president, has campaigned to save a Jeep factory in Belvidere, Illinois, that Stellantis has put on track to shut down. The automaker has left open the possibility that the factory could get a new product with government aid.