Jobs at NextStar will look little like traditional auto jobs, CEO says as hiring begins

Jobs at theNextStar battery plant in Windsor, Ont., are officially posted and hiring is underway for thefirst 130 employees, the company announced Monday.

It'll require threemonths of overseas training, the plant's chief executive officertold CBC News. The jobs will look very little like the traditional automotive manufacturing Windsorites areused to.

"I believe that this team is very much critical to make sure that our team ahead of the start of production is fully trained and ready for the successful ramp up," Danies Lee, CEO of NextStar Energy, daid in an interview.

"It's going to generate a generational opportunity for Windsor and absolutely we are also excited to work with such highly skilful people here in Windsor."

NextStar is a joint venture between Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions to build EV battery cells and modules. The plant was announced in 2022.

This round of hiring will be for 130 positions: 30 professional staff in finances, human resources and communications, and 100 engineers and technicians.

Lee said he's excited to open up hiring.

But he couldn't say how much the jobs pay, noting it depends too much on the individual role. Productionjobs, meanwhile, are too different from traditional automotive to compare pay between the two.

And EV battery manufacturing jobs, like the ones at NextStar, are quite a bit different from the automotive jobs Windsor is used to.

"Traditional assembly of the part will be done by the equipment and the machines that we are going to bring," Lee said. "The people on the production floor, their main job is to install the machine and set the parameters and then run [the machines] and they're doing the troubleshooting.

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"So they should have a pretty comprehensive knowledge about what this machine is about, including from the perspective of hardware as well as software."

It's like the machines manage production and people manage the machines, Lee said.

He said he was unsure on whether or not the jobs would be unionized at this early stage of hiring.

Stellantis's Windsor Assembly Plant is represented by Unifor Local 444.

This team of hires, whom Lee said will be considered the company's "launch team" for NextStar in Windsor, will be sent abroad for three months of training at a facility in Poland, with potential further training in China or South Korea, where LG Energy Solutions is based.

When asked about the challenges for people looking to enter the industry who would find it difficult to be away from their families for the training, Lee said there would be time for family.

"They travel there and they'll come back and settle down here, and if there is a need for them to bring their family to the Windsor area, yes, why not?That's up to their choice," Lee said.

"It's three months and in the middle there would be a chance that they come back and spend time with the family."

The plant is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2024. Production of battery electrodes and cells will follow in 2025.

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"NextStar's announcement today that it has opened recruitment for its first 130 employees, including 100 engineers and technicians and 30 professional staff, is an incredible milestone for our community," saidAndrew Dowie, PC MPP for WindsorTecumseh.

Production of EV battery modules will start at the facility in the second quarter of 2024, the company said.

Right now, the company is looking at roughly an eight-week delay in the opening of the module facility, Lee said. That'sowing to the nearly two months of stopped construction as Stellantis and LG negotiated with the provincial and federal governments over the terms of its deal to operate in Windsor.

The battery cell portion of the facility, which was not impacted by the negotiations, is on track, Lee said.

As for why people should consider a job at NextStar, Lee said it's the start of a growing industry.

"There will be a huge transition from [internal combustion] to the EV and the battery is at the core of such a transition," he said. "The skill they're going to develop will be something that industries are looking forward to have.

"Those skill set they're going to experience here will be highly valued in the marketplace."