The $9.2 billion low-cost government loan for the BlueOval SK joint venture is the biggest ever from the government auto lending program that will help finance construction of three plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. The joint venture is building battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. The UAW and Senator Bernie Sanders in April criticized a General Motors (GM.N)/LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) joint venture battery plant for paying workers much less than GM assembly plant employees even though it benefits from hefty U.S. government tax credits. Union workers at a nearby Ohio GM assembly plant that closed in 2019 made at least $32 an hour. The Energy Department last year awarded $2.5 billion to help finance construction of Ultium's new lithium-ion battery plants, including Warren, from the same program used for the Ford loan.

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Persons: Francois Lenoir, Shawn Fain, Fain, Joe Biden’s, Ford, Biden, Bernie Sanders, Warren, David Shepardson, Aurora Ellis, Mark Porter Organizations: Ford, REUTERS, United Auto Workers, UAW, U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, Korea's SK, JV, Detroit Three automakers, BlueOval SK, SK, South Korea's SK Innovation, Motors, LG Energy, JV Ultium, Ohio GM, The Energy Department, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Francois Lenoir WASHINGTON, Kentucky, Tennessee, South, America, Warren , Ohio, Ohio