Panasonic Is Ending Its Solar Cell Partnership With Tesla (techcrunch.com) 32
Panasonic said it will stop producing solar cells and modules at Tesla's factory in Buffalo, N.Y., ending a four-year joint venture with the electric automaker. TechCrunch reports: Panasonic said it will cease solar manufacturing operations at the Tesla factory by the end of May. The company will exit the factory by September. Panasonic employs about 380 people at the factory. Those employees will be given severance packages. Panasonic said it will work with Tesla to identify and hire qualified applicants from its impacted workforce. Panasonic said in its announcement that Tesla plans to hire qualified applicants to new positions needed to support its solar and energy manufacturing operations in Buffalo.
Panasonic struck a deal in 2016 to jointly produce solar cells at Tesla's "Gigafactory 2" plant in Buffalo, N.Y. Panasonic committed to share the cost of equipment needed for the plant. The joint venture deepened the relationship between the two companies, which already had established a partnership to produce battery cells at Tesla's factory near Reno, Nev. Panasonic's decision to exit the factory comes as Tesla tries to scale up its energy business as well as meet employment requirements at the state-funded factory. The Buffalo factory was built with $750 million in taxpayer funds and then leased to Tesla. Under a deal reached with the state, Tesla must employ 1,460 people there by April or face a $41.2 million penalty. As reports of Panasonic's exit circulated, Tesla told Empire State Development, the New York economic development authority that oversees the factory, that it has exceeded its hiring commitment. The report notes that Panasonic still works with Tesla under a separate joint venture to produce battery cells at a massive factory near Reno, Nevada. Panasonic said in a statement that the decision "will have no impact on Panasonic and Tesla's strong partnership in Nevada."
Panasonic struck a deal in 2016 to jointly produce solar cells at Tesla's "Gigafactory 2" plant in Buffalo, N.Y. Panasonic committed to share the cost of equipment needed for the plant. The joint venture deepened the relationship between the two companies, which already had established a partnership to produce battery cells at Tesla's factory near Reno, Nev. Panasonic's decision to exit the factory comes as Tesla tries to scale up its energy business as well as meet employment requirements at the state-funded factory. The Buffalo factory was built with $750 million in taxpayer funds and then leased to Tesla. Under a deal reached with the state, Tesla must employ 1,460 people there by April or face a $41.2 million penalty. As reports of Panasonic's exit circulated, Tesla told Empire State Development, the New York economic development authority that oversees the factory, that it has exceeded its hiring commitment. The report notes that Panasonic still works with Tesla under a separate joint venture to produce battery cells at a massive factory near Reno, Nevada. Panasonic said in a statement that the decision "will have no impact on Panasonic and Tesla's strong partnership in Nevada."
Re:Another company leaving NYS (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, treating workers like human beings is bad for business.
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How easily we demand everyone else do that which we ourselves are not capable of.
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How woke of you, how many did you hire ?
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Because he shot his mouth off and sounded like a tard but at least he wasn't a fucking AC.
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The decision likely has very little to do with wages and taxes and much more likely that Panasonic is looking to develop an independent facility, with a view to a major expansion in the market. The high end for solar panels and batteries, is to actually create a power station in the suburbs, getting as many solar panels on as many houses as possible with battery installs and act as the middle man selling power back to the grid. So not just selling panels, but leasing them and even paying to have them instal
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Word is that Panasonic got fed up waiting for Tesla. Not just missed deadlines on the cars that Panasonic hit production deadlines for, but on the solar panels. The solar roof tile boat is sailing and Tesla is about to miss it if they don't really ramp up installations. Panasonic wants to scale up solar production to industrial levels too, seeing that as the long term profitable market while domestic solar prices continue to fall.
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Strange, in scandinavian countries it is a boost to economy.
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Every mom and pop pizza shop owner would love it if all their customers get pay increase. It will increase their sales. Their customers outnumber their employees by several hundred fold.
We have coddled the self proclaimed job creators for so many decades, and it is a total failure. It is time to send a clear and strong message to the businesses. You want to do business in our state, do it by our rules. If not take a hike.
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for such an operation that shouldn't matter.
if 15$(adjust it to whatever year) seems a lot for an auto worker that would _totally_ explain why chrysler, gm etc have been perpetually failing forever.
it's not that wage, it's what you make the people do with the wage that has been an obvious problem for usa auto makers for decades. and refusal to learn(clone) vw's european operations or toyotas culture - and government bailouts letting them to not learn.
the gigafactories are just an attempt at copying both of
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See that's the thing, the state wide move to $15 an hour, ONLY applied to fast food workers. I don't have the words to express how badly this messed up the job market in NYS. Especially in a city like Buffalo where the cost of living is exponentially lower than that of NYC, and $15 an hour was considered a pretty good job not too long ago. Now you have all of the semi-competent semi skilled laborers making freaking sandwiches while the rest us try to convince management that if we want employees that are ac
Translation (Score:1)
They decided that it will be cheaper to buy chinese manufactured solar cells built on the backs of exploited children working in factories as part of their âoeco-opâ high school education.
Re: Translation (Score:1, Funny)
Re: Translation (Score:4, Insightful)
Nevada is not in China. They decided that the recent tax and wage hikes in NYS are unaffordable.
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from what I read only the battery production was going to be in Nevada. Where did you see they were paying for solar panels in nevada?
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Nevada is not in China. They decided that the recent tax and wage hikes in NYS are unaffordable.
It's not mentioned in the Tech Crunch article, but Tesla has been buying batteries from China (and S. Korea)
From Panasonic to End Tesla Partnership That Makes Solar Panels in Buffalo [wsj.com]
Tesla and Panasonic have been working together closely for years, principally with the Japanese company providing batteries for the electric vehicles the Silicon Valley automobile maker has been producing. Tesla owns a multibillion-dollar battery factory in the Nevada desert, known as the Gigafactory, which produces lithium-
Panasonic going back to making VCRs (Score:2)