Lion Electric Falls Apart In Joliet: No More Electric Buses Here

JOLIET — It's been more than three and a half years since Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker visited Joliet to reveal that Lion Electric, a Canadian electric-bus manufacturing company in Quebec, will open its first United States automobile manufacturing plant in Joliet. On Monday, CBC News, a Montreal-based outlet, broke the story that Quebec-based Lion Electric continues to have bad news — so much bad news that Joliet's manufacturing plant of the electric buses is coming to an end.

Back in 2021, Joliet Patch reported that Lion Electric intended to produce more than 10,000 electric vehicles per year at full capacity at the Joliet property at 3835 Youngs Road, off Route 6. Lion Electric occupied a newly built 906,517-square-foot industrial building and claimed it would make an investment of about $120 million in new machinery and equipment.

Then on Monday, a Canadian news outlet published the following headline: "Quebec's Lion Electric temporarily lays off more than half of remaining workforce." The story reported that "manufacturing operations at its plant in Joliet, will be halted due to the layoffs. The company did not specify what effect the reduction in staff would have on its operations in Mirabel and Saint-Jérôme in the Laurentians."

In July 2023, Joliet Patch covered the ribbon cutting ceremony in Joliet for Lion Electric. At the event, Congressman Bill Foster, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Senators Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin joined Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy celebrating the grand opening of the first new automotive production plant in Illinois in decades.

At the July 2023 ribbon cutting, Mayor Terry D'Arcy offered the following remarks:

"This will bring roughly 1,400 jobs in the future to Joliet and Will County. At a time when our country is faced with historic flooding, damaging tornadoes and dangerous heat waves, one can’t help but think about our climate and what the future holds for our children and grandchildren.

"We all know fossil fuel emissions are a contributing factor to global warming. That is why what Lion Electric is doing is so important. This company has made it its mission to take the lead in moving our nation from a reliance on gas and oil to electric vehicles, which is better for our environment and for protecting our planet for generations to come.

"As someone who understands transportation and automotive needs, I truly appreciate the technology Lion is instituting to improve the environment and the future for all of us. Thank you to the leadership of Lion Electric for choosing our city for your new facility."