Nickel Workers Powered the EV Battery Boom. Now, Layoffs Have Hit.

“As people now rely on wages from nickel, layoffs will cause poverty.”

Nickel prices collapsed from $48,000 per tonne in 2022 to $15,000 in 2025 because carmakers like BYD and Tesla switched to cheaper lithium-ion phosphate batteries that don’t need nickel at all. Indonesia’s massive nickel processing zone employs over 100,000 people who earn $244 a month and depend on constant overtime to survive. The sector recorded 93 workplace accidents over eight years, killing dozens. These workers powered the EV boom, and now the industry that promised them a future is pivoting away without looking back.