(NewsNation) — Chinese battery company Gotion has abandoned a plan to build a $2.4 billion plant in Michigan to produce material for electric vehicles, the state said Thursday.

The plan, first announced in October 2022, was expected to create 2,350 jobs but came under criticism from some lawmakers for the company's Chinese ownership. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said none of a $125 million state grant for the project was ever disbursed, and it will pursue repayment of another $23.6 million state award that went toward purchase of the property.

The news was first reported by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. An MEDC official told Crain’s that without the grant dollars, she didn’t see how the plant could be built.

“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, we recognize the

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