The new Panasonic Plant near Eudora is rapidly taking shape and plans to begin production in the first quarter of 2025. Panasonic officials were at Ottawa university to talk to business leaders and other local officials. Officials described how the company would be the biggest battery plant in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It will employ several thousand employees in many different positions and skill sets, with production workers starting at a wage of around $25 an hour. They say that outlying communities, such of Ottawa, should see an uptick in business because the plant will have a lot of suppliers of many different components to manufacture the batteries.
We have no audio from the conference as Panasonic Manager of Community Affairs, Julie Sailors, refused to allow KOFO to record the meeting, citing something called the Global Rules On Media Engagement, saying they would’ve had to get headquarters permission to allow media, and they didn’t know media would be present.
