Trump Pulling the Rug Out From Communities Counting on Jobs | Climate Power

A centerpiece of Donald Trump’s campaign agenda has been to repeal the clean energy investments from the Inflation Reduction Act, a promise he made to oil executives at Mar-a-Lago. This would be devastating to communities across the country, jeopardizing many of the 334,000 clean energy jobs already announced since passage.

A disproportionate number of those jobs are also in disadvantaged communities that need those investments most. But perhaps the hardest hit will be those communities where clean energy investments are protecting or saving existing jobs, while also expanding existing factories that are already part of the fabric of those communities. Examples such as General Motors’ electric vehicle factory conversion in Lansing, MI and Volvo and Harley Davidson’s manufacturing retooling for heavy-duty electric trucks and electric motorcycles in Macungie and York, PA demonstrate how the clean energy boom is a revolution in diversifying energy sources, building an entire domestic supply chain from the ground up, and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs in communities with legacies in American manufacturing.

1. Kia Brings Manufacturing Jobs And Innovation To West Point 

In July 2023, Kia announced a $200 million investment in its existing West Point manufacturing facility, which will create 200 jobs. The facility includes the Kia Georgia Training Center, which includes robotics, welding, and electronics labs, classrooms, and equipment for training on state-of-the-art programmable logic controllers. Thanks to incentives from the Biden-Harris clean energy plan, this facility will be the home of manufacturing for Kia’s all electric 2025 EV9 three-row SUV, making history as the first electric vehicle assembled in the state of Georgia.

2. Blue Bird Bus Converts Prior Diesel Manufacturing Site into Electric Vehicle Factory

In July 2024, Blue Bird was selected to receive an $80 million federal grant from the Department of Energy to convert a prior manufacturing site for diesel-powered motorhomes into an EV school bus manufacturing facility. The grant was funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. Blue Bird indicated that the converted facility would create 400 new, good-paying jobs that would be represented by the United Steelworkers union. A worker at the facility said the DOE’s grant increased job security at the plant. Blue Bird is also committed to creating training partnerships with local high schools and providing childcare support to working parents as part of the grant program’s Community Benefits Agreement. In May 2023, Blue Bird Corporation announced the grand opening of its EV Build-up Center at its Fort Valley, Georgia manufacturing facility. The new facility allows Blue Bird to expand its electric school bus production capacity from 4 to 20 vehicles per day. Blue Bird credited the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for its decision to expand EV school bus manufacturing.

3. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Investment Supports Lansing’s Auto Industry 

Auto manufacturing provided a stable base for Lansing, Michigan’s economy for decades. Michigan’s first auto manufacturing facility was located in the city, and the Lansing area has been home to two major GM manufacturing facilities since the early 2000s. Lansing’s economy has diversified, but auto manufacturing has provided “stability” for the region’s overall economy. 

In July 2024, as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s announcement of $1 billion in grants to help retool or reopen 11 auto plants, General Motors received a $500 million grant in July 2024 to convert its Grand River Plant in Lansing for EV manufacturing. The grant and an additional $900 million investment by GM will retool production lines at the facility for EV production. The conversion allows the facility to save 650 jobs represented by United Auto Workers Local 652 and add 50 additional jobs at the factory. Lansing’s Mayor, Andy Schor, said the investment meant that “Lansing will continue to put the world on wheels, now and for decades into the future.”

4. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Is Revitalizing Bay City

Bay City, located in Mid-Michigan, has struggled to create good-paying jobs in the past decade. The city was devastated by the auto industry’s decline; the local GM manufacturing plant employed only a fraction of the workers that it did at its peak. Bay City’s economy was also hurt by the closure of nearby coal plants.  However, now new clean energy investments in Bay City are creating good-paying jobs and revitalizing the region’s auto manufacturing sector while providing vital inputs for the domestic electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. 

In February 2024, SK Siltron CSS received a $544 million conditional loan commitment from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to expand its silicon carbide wafer manufacturing facility in Bay City. The facility, which produces silicon carbide (SiC) wafers for power electronics in EVs, is projected to be among the top five manufacturers of SiC wafers globally thanks to expanded production made possible by the DOE loan. Terry Spencer, Monitor Township Supervisor, lauded the investment, “In order to keep our population that we have, our kids that are graduating high school and getting on to college, keep them in this area. We need to encourage investments like SK Siltron.”

In addition, in June 2023, Mersen USA announced a $71 million investment to expand its Bay City manufacturing facility with four new buildings, creating 70 new jobs. Mersens’ announcement followed a $1.6 billion expansion of Bay Carbon’s manufacturing facility, further demonstrating the resurgence of investments in Bay City. The facility manufactures carbide-coated graphite components, which are crucial to the silicon chips used in EVs. State Senator Kristen McDonald Rivet, who represents Bay City, praised the investment, noting that it would create good-paying jobs for the city. 

5. Clean Energy Investments Are Revitalizing Michigan’s Energy Communities

In November 2023, LuxWall received a $31.7 million grant from the Department of Energy to construct a manufacturing facility in Detroit, Michigan. The manufacturing facility will be located on the site of a former coal plant in Detroit’s Delray neighborhood. LuxWall manufactures energy-efficient, vacuum-insulating glass that boosts heat retention by 45% and cooling retention by 60%. LuxWall planned to create 277 jobs at the factory, paying an average wage of $1,653 per week plus benefits. The company also planned to offer training and apprenticeship programs for local residents. LuxWall also pledged to install high-efficiency windows for local residents. 

6. ZF North America Marysville Is Expanding Its Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

In July 2024, ZF North America received a $157.7 million grant to modernize its Marysville, Michigan manufacturing facility to manufacture EV components. The grant was funded by the Inflation Reduction Act’s Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants For Electric Vehicles Program. The grant program allowed ZF to retain 536 jobs at the facility. As a part of the grant program, ZF also pledged to work with local environmental groups to minimize the factory’s environmental impact.

7. Redwood Materials Is Leading Battery Recycling In McCarran

On February 9, 2023, the Department of Energy announced a $2 billion loan commitment to Redwood Materials to build and expand a battery materials campus in McCarran, Nevada. Redwood Materials is expected to create approximately 3,400 good-paying construction jobs and employ approximately 1,600 full-time employees, including labor, technical staff, and on-site management. 75 percent of the staff roles would be filled by local workers. In addition, Redwood Materials will rely on a construction workforce composed of union members and Minority and/or Woman-Owned Business Enterprises. 

8. Unimacts Expanded Its Solar Manufacturing Facility

In August 2023, Unimacts announced it hired 80 new employees at its Las Vegas manufacturing facility, which produces components to enable solar panel rotation. Unimacts’ CEO said the company would not have expanded without the Inflation Reduction Act’s incentives.

9. Toyota Is Revitalizing Manufacturing In Randolph County

New clean energy investments are creating long-term economic opportunities in Randolph Country, where Toyota has expanded its plans for a battery plant. In August 2022, the company announced an additional $2.5 billion investment in the facility, and in October 2023, said it would invest a further $8 billion in the plant. These new waves of investment after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act are creating an additional 3,350 jobs at the plant, nearly twice the number of jobs Toyota estimated would be created at the plant when it was first announced in 2021. The new jobs will have starting pay between $18 and $42 an hour, higher than the county’s average wage. Toyota plans to hire 700 staff by the end of 2024.

10. Lordstown Electric Vehicle Battery Auto Plant Restores Jobs

In Lordstown, UAW reached a historic tentative agreement with Ultium Cells, where 1,600 workers build electric vehicle batteries for General Motors vehicles. This new plant has restored previously lost employment in the area, hiring local workers to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. This plant’s success is poised to revitalize automotive manufacturing in the economically hard-hit Mahoning Valley.

11. Mobis US Expands Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Creates New Jobs

In December 2023, Mobis announced that it would invest $13.8 million to assemble battery systems for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Toledo, Ohio. The facility will create 185 manufacturing jobs. In July 2024, American Autoparts and Mobis North America received a $32.6 million grant to convert Toledo, Ohio, manufacturing facilities to manufacture plug-in hybrid vehicles. The funding would be partially used by Mobis North America to construct the new battery system assembly plant in Toledo. As part of its Community Benefits Agreement, Mobis North America pledged to work with local educational institutions and the UAW Local 12 to create worker training pipelines. Brandon Sehlhorst, director of economic development, applauded the investment, saying “We couldn’t be more ecstatic…the city has been working very hard over the past few years to reposition that site into a future economic development engine for the city.”

12. Solar Energy Is Bringing New Life to Former Mines in Clearfield County

Swift Current Energy built the Mineral Basin Solar Project in Girard Township. Since the project is located on former mine land, Swift Energy received a $90 million grant under the Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land. The solar project repurposes former mine land and will generate enough electricity to power more than 70,000 homes. The project will generate more than $1.1 million in local tax revenue per year. Swift Current has also invested nearly $20 million in economic development to upskill and reskill workers in the region. John Sobel, Clearfield County commissioner, said “The land really isn’t in much use. Now it’s going to be used again for the production of energy, which is obviously always a need in this country. So I think that’s kind of exciting.”

13. Volvo And Harley Davidson Expand Electric Vehicle Manufacturing In Macungie and York

In July 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced funding to support the conversion of multiple shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania. The $208 million grant to Volvo and $89 million grant to Harley Davidson will help expand their manufacturing of heavy-duty electric trucks and electric motorcycles, respectively. Their facilities in Macungie and York now have a bright future in manufacturing cheaper, cleaner vehicles, and are projected to create hundreds more union jobs.