Two Democratic members of Michigan’s congressional delegation say the shutdown of a mid-Michigan manufacturing plant is the result of President Donald Trump’s policies.
The South Korean company SK Siltron announced last month they plan to shut down a plant near Bay City, taking 140 jobs with it.
The plant produced semiconductor wafers and microchips that help power things like electric vehicles and solar panels. Leaders of the company said they invested $300 million in the construction of the Monitor Township facility that opened in the fall of 2022.
At a press conference Thursday, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, said Trump's economic strategy since retaking the White House has made planning hard for companies.
Slotkin pointed to Trump’s tariffs as a primary reason for market instability.
“When you don't know who in your supply chain you can rely on, it is really hard to make investments and make decisions to stay in places,” Slotkin said.
Additionally, the Trump administration has canceled billions of green-energy programs approved during President Joe Biden's time in office.
“The president decided that certain types of energy were good and certain types of energy were bad and woke,” Slotkin said. “The truth is, every single one of us is using more power. We all need all kinds of energy.”
The Trump administration has maintained the stance that tariffs will boost economic growth for domestic companies by forcing them to bring supply chains to American soil.
SK Siltron was given a $544 million loan from the federal government to help get the facility up and running. The company said they recently paid off that loan. Michigan also gave SK Siltron a $1.5 million performance-based grant.
When the plant opened, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that it would “cut down shortages and delays, and create good-paying jobs for Michiganders in Bay City.”
A growing bipartisan group of lawmakers say the state should rely less on tax-payer funded corporative incentives as a means to attract companies to set up shop in Michigan.
McDonald Rivet acknowledged in her remarks the need to take a "new look at economic incentives,” but she maintained the Trump administration’s policies led to the plant's demise.
"We did not lose the SK Siltron plant because of an economic incentive plan," McDonald Rivet said. "We lost because the market is collapsing and the instability and chaos is making it too unpredictable for growth of business right now."
