Staff report

CONCORD — Battery manufacturer Alevo has filed for bankruptcy, which means 290 people at its plant in Concord will lose their jobs, according to a report in Business Today.

Alevo, which is headquartered in Switzerland, opened in Concord in 2014 in the old Philip Morris plant on U.S. 29.

The city, Cabarrus County and Cabarrus Economic Development will work with the property owners on redevelopment opportunities, said Concord Mayor Scott Padgett.

“I was extremely disappointed to receive notice that Alevo is ceasing operations today,” Padgett said. “My most immediate concern is for the 290 individuals and their families that will be affected by a loss of employment. They took a chance on a promising future with Alevo, and now have to start back at square one.”

The company was expected to spend $251 million on new production lines and equipment here, creating 200 jobs.

In February, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners and Concord City Council approved two five-year, performance-based tax incentives totaling $4,291,596 for the city and $6,258,577 for the county, according to the Business Today report.

The project also included a $2.6 million approved by the state Economic Investment Committee.

The Concord location was Alevo’s first U.S. manufacturing site where the rechargeable GridBank Lithium-Ion battery storage system is made. The company was hiring manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, logistics, supply chain and other employees.