The Kansas City region has successfully won Kansas’s largest economic development project in the state’s history. Panasonic Energy Co., has plans to builds one of the largest the largest electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities in the United States. Pending approval by Panasonic Holdings Corporation Board of Directors, the company has identified a site in De Soto for the potential project.
The planned project is expected to create up to 4,000 new jobs, resulting in an investment of up to $4 billion. An independent Wichita State University economic impact study predicted the project to support an additional 4,000 jobs for regional suppliers and community businesses, plus 16,500 construction jobs.
Panasonic chose Kansas because of its friendly business climate, talent pool and workforce skillset, support for technology innovation, strong transportation and infrastructure, and central location. This builds on Kansas City’s legacy manufacturing and automotive industry strengths.