Microvast Class Action Lawsuit Filed After Mass Layoffs at Clarksville EV Battery Facility

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Microvast faces a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the lithium-ion battery manufacturer broke the law when it abruptly fired several groups of employees, at least 33 percent of its active full-time workforce, from its Clarksville, Tennessee facility without notice in April and May 2024.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

The 10-page lawsuit accuses Microvast of violating the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by executing a foreseeable mass layoff without providing at least 60 days’ advance notice to affected employees.

According to the case, the plaintiff was terminated without proper notice with around 44 other workers on April 19, 2024, and the mass layoffs at Microvast continued as recently as May 17.

Microvast announced in February 2021 that it would be establishing its first American EV battery plant in Clarksville, bringing nearly 300 jobs to the expanding tech market. The April and May layoffs came amid a “reduction in force” for the company, the suit says.

The filing shares that dozens of people relocated to Clarksville specifically to work for Microvast, only to be fired without notice.

“The effects of Defendants’ unceremonious layoffs on the Clarksville, Tennessee community cannot be understated,” the class action lawsuit reads, adding that Clarksville will “bear the brunt of [Microvast’s] transgressions.”

According to Clarksville Now, Microvast remains committed to employing 230 people by 2025, but the company has had to “walk back” its production schedule as it looks to lock in financing to finish the Clarksville facility. The Clarksville plant “is about halfway complete,” the publication wrote, and another $150 million is needed to finish it.

Clarksville Now reported that Microvast is reducing its workforce across all of its locations and slowing operations in Clarksville until it can raise enough construction capital.

“Once a financing solution is in place, we will resume operations to finish the project; including hiring of appropriate staff,” Microvast said in a statement.

The WARN Act lawsuit contends that Microvast failed to provide advance notice to impacted workers even though it had planned to lay off at least 50 people and 33 percent of the individuals employed at the Clarksville plant.

The Microvast lawsuit looks to cover all employees of the company who were terminated pursuant to a mass layoff or plant closing within 90 days of April 19, 2024.

Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.