In our last piece, we discussed how veterans are uniquely suited to employment in the manufacturing sector as a whole and how several programs already exist to assist them in this transition. In this piece, we will analyze how the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, in particular, is prime for veterans to find their next career paths.
First off, the industry has already experienced significant growth. According to Atlas Public Policy, automotive and battery manufacturers have committed $1.2 trillion to the EV transition, with about $312 billion headed to the United States, $148 billion of that has been announced since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL) was passed in 2021, and $223 billion of that has already been allocated to specific projects.
Plus, since the BIL became law, the federal government has handed out more than $23 billion in grants and loans to EV and battery manufacturers.
Since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) became law in 2022, $565 million has also been claimed in Qualifying Advanced Energy Project tax credits by companies readying to build manufacturing facilities.
Even more growth is expected in the coming years. The International Energy Agency reported earlier this year that global sales of EVs grew by 25% in the first quarter of 2024 in comparison to the same period last year. In fact, the first three months of the year saw the same number of EVs sold as the entire year of 2020.
By 2035, every other car sold in the world will be electric, the report found. Plus, according to a 2022 report from McKinsey & Company, demand for batteries is expected to grow by 30% by 2030, and the battery value chain is expected to grow by a factor of 10 over the decade.
Photo Courtesy Stellantis
This electrified future will require a larger workforce. According to researchers at Carnegie-Mellon University, manufacturing battery electric powertrains require 15 to 24 worker hours per powertrain, in comparison to 4 to 11 hours for internal combustion engine vehicle powertrains. This gap will need to be met with more workers.
“We’re saying that if you were to produce every single component in an EV in the U.S., that the total sum of those powertrain components will be higher than the equivalent ICE components,” Turner Cotterman, a McKinsey consultant who was in charge of the research, explained to Heatmap News.
E2 reports that the entire U.S. clean vehicles sector — including EVs, hybrids, plug-in EVs, and hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles — currently employs more than 410,000 people, with more than 40,000 added in the past year.
The EV industry alone was responsible for more than 17,000 of these new jobs, representing 12.9% growth year-over-year and 78.8% over the past three years.
Even more jobs are on the way. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research expects that the American lithium-ion battery supply chain will require up to 310,000 workers by the end of the decade. However, the International Council on Clean Transportation predicts more than 160,000 new workers in the American charging infrastructure industry by 2032.
Photo Courtesy Ford
Several EV manufacturers are already running initiatives to seek out and employ veterans. For example, Tesla has been on the hunt for former military service members since at least 2014, only two years after the first Model S was completed at its factory in Fremont, California. Already, veterans represented about 5% of its workforce, and on a monthly basis, it held veteran gatherings at the Fremont factory to brainstorm ideas for the company.
“Veterans are the perfect fit for Tesla because many of them gained incredibly advanced technical, electrical, and mechanical skills in the service that are directly applicable to manufacturing electric vehicles,” Camille Rickets, former director of communications for Tesla, told Military.com in 2012.
Tesla’s website urges veterans to “continue your service by joining our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
An employee resource group called Veterans at Tesla even exists to help newly hired workers connect with other veterans on the payroll through buddy check-ins, monthly meetings, and charity hikes.
In 2019, the automaker also joined forces with the Secretary of the Navy Tours with Industry program, connecting naval officers to gain experience at private companies. A Navy helicopter pilot served as Tesla’s first fellow out of the program, who worked with the North American Charging Infrastructure team for a year.
Photo Courtesy Tesla
Meanwhile, MilitaryFriendly.com recognized Hyundai Motor America as a Military Friendly® Employer last year and was included by Military Times on its Best for Vets employer list. Between its corporate headquarters, Alabama manufacturing facility, and dealerships, it employed about 1,000 veterans as of last November. These veterans not only can take advantage of the company’s factory training centers free of charge even before they leave the military, but once Hyundai employs them, they also have access to the Stars and Stripes employee resource group.
On the other hand, BYD claims to be the only battery-EV manufacturer with a union workforce and a Community Benefits Agreement.
The agreement, the result of collaboration with SMART Local 105 and Jobs to Move America, promises to help veterans join its manufacturing workforce.
The organizations do so through a nonprofit called Helmets to Hardhats, which aims to help military service members transition into careers in the building and construction trades in collaboration with 15 international construction trade unions. Daniel Moran, a BYD employee who previously served in Iraq, expressed in the press release, “It’s nice to see hope in everyone’s faces when they see how much opportunity this company has given to not just our workers but our community and vets.”
Photo Courtesy BYD North America
Other companies throughout the EV supply chain are also extending a hand to veterans. Ascend Elements, which reclaims and recycles discarded lithium-ion batteries to manufacture advanced battery materials, is already recruiting employees for the $1 billion Apex 1 facility it is building in Kentucky.
Cory Radcliffe, a construction project manager at Ascend who previously served in the Marine Corps unmanned aerial systems task force, told Bloomberg that around one-third of the 70 workers hired are former military service members who were, in fact, hired directly from the U.S. military. Although he was afraid of losing his mission in life after leaving the Marines, he has found a new patriotic mission in combating China’s dominance in EV supply chains.
“Whether you like EVs or not, believe in climate change or not, drive an F-350 pickup or an EV,” Radcliffe told Bloomberg. “My motivation and purpose here is that the U.S. needs this to be successful.”
Photo Courtesy Ascend Elements
EV charging company EVgo also employs several U.S. veterans. Alexies Fernandez, who was a sergeant in the Marine Corps before becoming a NOC Technician with EVgo, noted in an employee spotlight interview that he joined the military “to serve a purpose and to learn how to be a good leader” and that at EVgo, “I also enjoy having a purpose — assisting EV drivers on their daily commutes and providing cleaner air for our world.”
Marcy Bauer, a former Army captain and current senior vice president at EVgo, remembered that her time in the military actually introduced her to the world of fast charging.
“My service sparked my interest in and passion for environmental conservation,” she said. I found my life’s passion in the Army, but I had to leave the uniformed ranks to pursue it.”
