Panasonic Supplier Blames American Work Culture For Battery Plant Delays

Panasonic has been working on the construction of a massive EV battery plant in Kansas since 2022, and after myriad delays in the interim, it could finally be approaching completion. The facility, which will be the largest such plant in the world, could be operational as soon as August, according to one of Panasonic’s construction suppliers. The plant will be the company’s second U.S.-based manufacturing plant, following one embedded within the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, that builds cells and battery packs for the automaker’s Cybertruck and Model X vehicles.

The Plant Was Anticipated To Open In March

When the second factory was announced, Panasonic anticipated it would open in March 2025, but several different delays conspired to render that goal unattainable. Speaking to Nikkei Asia, one of Panasonic’s construction suppliers called the schedule extremely difficult to meet, in part citing America’s more “relaxed” approach to work. For example, the unnamed supplier claimed that local construction workers were less likely to work overtime and more likely to point to workplace irregularities as a safety risk. The entity, which is a contractor for Panasonic and not the electronics giant itself, also said that the local workforce was less reliable than anticipated. Furthermore, variable weather proved challenging; the construction site experienced heavy flooding as a result of a severe winter storm, delaying operations further.

In addition to the weather and workforce concerns, Nikkei Asia reported that Panasonic was approaching its U.S. plant with some trepidation due to the volatile economic situation stemming from the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods. Although the batteries coming from the plant itself would be manufactured in Kansas, the machines used to build them come from Japan, which was hit with a 24 percent reciprocal tariff, making import duties on manufacturing implements more expensive. Panasonic has delayed outfitting its factory with those machines until some of the political dust settles; the governments of Japan and the US are still negotiating the terms of the tariff, 14 percent of which has been paused until July per Nikkei.

August 2025 Is The New Goal

The aforementioned construction supplier said that the De Soto, Kansas–based facility was on track for a production start in August, although Panasonic itself wouldn’t commit to a specific date. The Japanese company did acknowledge that it expected the plant to begin mass production during the first half of fiscal-year 2026, which would mean before September at the latest. However, once it gets the new factory up and running, Panasonic may take a more conservative approach to American. operations.

The company intended to build a third manufacturing plant in the U.S., but those plans have been paused for the time being. Panasonic’s leadership have expressed skepticism about America’s EV-friendliness, citing sporadic charging infrastructure investments and slower-than-expected EV adoption among consumers. The massive Panasonic factory is still expected to bring EV manufacturing costs – and therefore sticker prices – down, so maybe the electronics juggernaut will change its tune if Americans get excited about cheaper electric cars.

Source: Nikkei Asia