Ningde Times (300750.SZ) and Ford Motor to build a joint factory in the United States again encountered obstacles.

According to the Detroit News, Ford Motor announced on Monday that it was suspending construction of a battery plant in Marshall, Michigan. "The company will suspend construction work on the Michigan plant and limit its construction expenditures until it is satisfied that it can operate the facility competitively." Ford Motor said.
The plant, with a total investment of $3.5 billion (about 25.6 billion yuan), is being built by Ford Motor in cooperation with Ningde Times. In response to this matter, Ningde Times responded to the interface news reporter said that there was no information to disclose.
Ford said the decision was based on multiple considerations, but would not say whether the ongoing strike by the United Auto Workers union against Ford and its cross-town rivals was a factor.
Ford is currently in the midst of a strike action called by the United Auto Workers union. The strike against Detroit's Big three carmakers, Ford, General Motors and Strangis, has lasted for more than ten days.
The union wants the Big Three to offer workers a 40 percent pay rise over four years, as well as improved pensions, shorter working hours and other benefits.
The Big Three say they cannot afford significantly higher labor costs as they invest profits in an expensive transition to electric vehicles. The auto industry accounts for about 3 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, and Detroit automakers account for about half of the nation's domestic car market.
On Friday, the UAW announced that 38 parts distribution centers at GM and Strangis would join the strike. As talks progressed, no more Ford plants joined the latest strike action.
Two days later, on Sunday, Ford said that while talks with the UAW had made progress in some areas, significant differences remained on key economic issues until a new labor deal could be reached.
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union, likened Ford's suspension of construction at its Michigan plant to a "shameful, thinly veiled threat of layoffs."
"The Detroit Three have closed 65 plants in the last 20 years and still don't think it's enough. And now they're threatening to shut down factories that haven't opened yet. The union is just asking for workers to get a fair shake in the transition to electric vehicles, and Ford is doing the opposite."
In February, Ford Motor announced it would build a battery factory in Michigan with partner Catl Times.
Ford Motor will own the new plant, while Catl will provide setup and operation services and license the patented battery technology. After completion, the battery plant will have a capacity of 35 GWh, which can be used by 400,000 new energy vehicles, and the factory will employ no less than 2,500 people, and it is planned to be put into operation in 2026.
The plant's construction has been challenged more than once.
In July, Mike Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition with China, and Jason Smith, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, jointly sent a letter to Ford Motor President Jim Farley, asking him to elaborate on the details of the cooperation with Ningde Times.
The letter noted that hundreds of Ningde-era employees would be employed at the plant to assemble and maintain the equipment, and questioned whether the cooperation between the two companies would help reduce the United States' dependence on Chinese battery technology.