Australian electric vehicle charging company Tritium will close the doors of its local factory before Christmas, leaving the jobs of up to 400 workers insecure.
The struggling fast-charging company announced at its annual general meeting on Thursday that it would close its factory in Murrarie, Brisbane on December 22 and consolidate manufacturing operations at its base in Tennessee in the US.
The closure is a blow to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited the factory earlier this year to showcase it as a shining example of his advanced green manufacturing ambitions.
The company will retain a research and development facility in Brisbane and claims only 75 workers will be made redundant when the factory closes on December 22. However, the company did not reveal whether more layoffs will follow.
Tritium's Nasdaq shares have fallen 90 percent this year due to cost increases and competition from rival companies.
In a blow to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's green manufacturing ambitions, EV charging company Tritium will close its local factory due to high costs (photo, visit to Tritium in March 2023)
The company will move all of its production to its base in Tennessee, United States
In recent months, Tritium CEO Jane Hunter lobbied state and federal governments for additional funding, but was pushed back.
It was a similar case at agencies like the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the National Reconstruction Fund.
There has been recent talk that Taiwanese giant Lite-On is interested in buying a stake in the company that could help it get back on track, although it appears no details were revealed at the AGM.
According to wealthy listener Brian Flannery, who owns a 5 percent stake in the company, management said they were in discussions with “several” groups about a strategic partnership.
“There have been a lot of rumors about Lite-On, but the company hasn't named anyone,” Flannery told The Australian.
He added that the company will have to “work hard” to reduce costs and “may have to pause research and development for a while.”
He also admitted that Tritium could not make a profit from manufacturing in Australia because labor and material costs were too high.
“In the US, production costs are generally lower.”
According to a report from the Electric Vehicle Council, Australia currently has approximately 3,700 EV charging stations across the country.
A Perth EV driver, Kristie Hannah, recently took to social media to share her experience driving her Tesla Model Y for three hours to a wedding.
She said that while 'generic' chargers, such as those from RAC using Tritium technology, were cheaper, they were often busy or in need of maintenance, forcing her to use the more expensive Tesla-branded stations.
An EV driver recently explained on social media that a charging station told her her Tesla was charged, but actually only had 11 percent of the battery left
Founded in 2001 by engineers David Finn, James Kennedy and Paul Sernia, Tritium launched on the Nasdaq two years ago with a strong valuation.
It has done business with companies such as BP, Shell and several governments to provide publicly accessible ultra-fast DC charging stations.
However, the company has seen challenges in recent years, such as the rise of companies offering home charging systems and major rival Tesla forming its own North American public charging network.