GM

For now, Samsung plans to use the site to make batteries for energy storage systems, a market that’s growing more quickly.

Enchem America Inc., which makes electrolytes for electric batteries, is slowing its plans to build a plant near New Carlisle as GM and Samsung pause their battery plant project.

"We don’t know if the pause will last six weeks, six months, a year," says St. Joseph County Economic Development Director Bill Schalliol. "They don’t know. We don’t know."

A GM spokesperson confirmed the pause in an emailed statement to WVPE Thursday, saying, "Construction of the battery cell plant in New Carlisle, Indiana will be paused to align production capacity with current demand."

GM says despite layoffs by its construction contractor and its own plans to scale back electric vehicle production, it will continue building an EV battery plant with partner Samsung near New Carlisle, still planning to finish by late 2027.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says it understands that people are frustrated with waiting longer at U.S. 20 and Quince Road but has told them congestion will ease once work on the parallel State Road 2 finishes.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is fast-tracking an interchange at State Road 2 and Larrison Road but it's still a couple years off.

The county will forward to Amazon invoices from contractors building new water and sewer infrastructure

The United Auto Workers union again escalated its strikes against Detroit Three automakers, this time adding a factory that makes Ram pickup trucks for Stellantis.

The United Auto Workers strike strategy has been mostly predictable over the last four weeks. On Fridays, the union would announce which plants would go on strike based on how well the week's negotiations went. National union leadership announced Friday that pattern is ending — and local UAW officials say they'll have to calm member's nerves about it.