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‘Good corporate neighbours’: Locals fear disruptions from giant VW plant in Ontario
ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO — Jenna Tranter thought she had finally found rural tranquillity a decade ago when she bought a lush 25-acre farm where she could teach horseback riding, removed from the traffic and noise of a major city.
But she recently learned she’d be getting a new neighbour: Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, has announced plans to build a massive electric-vehicle battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont., a block away from her home.
The German auto giant’s choice of St. Thomas as the site for its “gigafactory” was widely cheered – including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford – and is expected to create up to 3,000 direct jobs, as well as up to 30,000 spinoff jobs at companies supplying the plant.
But not everyone was thrilled.