(PatriotWise.com) — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ran for office, promising that her state would lead the way in the country’s transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric and pledged to spend more than $2 billion to attract EV battery makers while expanding the production of electric vehicles.
However, according to an analysis from the group Bridge Michigan, after two years and $1 billion spent on corporate incentives for the transition, Whitmer’s promise of creating more than 10,000 jobs has yet to materialize.
Instead, that $1 billion has created a meager 200 jobs.
The governor’s plan would provide $2 billion in corporate incentives to five auto manufacturers and battery makers: Ford, LG Energy Solution, ONE (Our Next Energy), Gotion, Inc., and General Motors.
In exchange, the companies were supposed to invest $16 billion to either expand the production of electric vehicles or build battery plants in the state, creating 12,000 jobs for Michiganders, according to the governor.
Two years later, with sales of electric vehicles underperforming and the industry facing an uncertain future, every project in the state is behind schedule, and two have been scaled back, reducing the total job creation estimates by 13 percent, according to Bridge Michigan’s analysis.
Bridge Michigan found that despite two years of subsidies, hiring is still at less than 2 percent of the promised 12,000 jobs.
Unfortunately, given the new rules in place, if the projects fall apart or under-deliver, it could be extremely difficult for Michigan to claw back the taxpayer-funded incentives it already gave to the corporations.
According to Bridge Michigan, the state spent at least $70 million to purchase the land for two of the so-called “giga-factories” which state officials failed to explicitly disclose.
Additionally, Michigan invested $78.3 million in the startup company ONE (Our Next Energy), which promised to invest $16 billion in an EV battery plant that would create 2,112. However, Bridge Michigan found that ONE employs only 50 people at its project in Wayne County and recently laid off 25 percent of its workforce.
The spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation defended the governor’s plan, telling Bridge Michigan that despite “some re-scoping,” there would still be billions of dollars “injected into the state” with “thousands of jobs being created.”
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