Michigan boasts a significant automotive sector, and recent substantial layoffs are raising concerns among hardworking industry insiders in this key battleground region. As they mull over which political figure to support – previous President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris – they’re forced to reconcile their choice with the future of their employment. International automaker Stellantis, the company behind such well-known brands as Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, shared distressing news recently when they revealed plans to release 2,450 employees from their Warren assembly plant.
While job numbers in the state’s automobile industry have been experiencing a downtrend since 1990, local car manufacturing workers voiced to the press that the current administration’s support of electric vehicles (EVs) is the cause of the latest job cuts. Ford moved to reduce its workforce by over a thousand positions in March, subsequent to the decision to limit the production of its much-publicized Lightning electric pickup truck.
Entrusted with the assembly of hybrid batteries at Ford’s Rawsonville plant, United Auto Workers (UAW) member Isaiah Gordon, aged 24, confidentially shared with reporters that the rushed shift to electric vehicles is inflicting harm on the industry. ‘Certainly, my colleagues and I are fortunate to remain employed,’ he stated. ‘Yet in these divisions devoted to electric vehicles, layoffs are becoming the norm,’ as he confided to the press.
Adding on to this viewpoint was Chris Vitale, a UAW affiliate who puts together machines for Chrysler. He concurred that the creation of EVs requires noticeably less manpower than vehicles running on gasoline. ‘Assembling an electric motor has similarities to crafting a pinwheel or a paper airplane; yes, it involves work, but the complexity of skills needed doesn’t match traditional car manufacturing,’ Vitale shared.
Congresswoman Lisa McClain aligned herself with concerns of these hands-on workers, expressing disapproval of how this evolution was impacting them. Ford previously enacted large-scale layoffs, cutting over a thousand positions at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, following a considerable scaling back of production for the F-150 Lightning, its full-electric utility vehicle.
Reluctantly, Gordon spoke about the government’s direction towards encouraging EV adoption. ‘This is the path they are promoting now,’ he shared. ‘In my opinion, they’ve made mistakes in handling it because Ford, for example, has experienced substantial financial losses due to those decisions.’
However, it’s more than just the reduction of labor related to the production of EVs resulting in layoffs, according to the workforce. It’s the tight emissions standards initiated under the current presidential leadership. They argue these standards are almost unattainable and accuse the strict EPA regulations of heavy-handedly pushing automakers towards producing more EVs, circumventing market demand.
Even in the case of hybrid vehicles, the new standards are hard to achieve, as Vitale explained to the press. ‘Take something like the Ford hybrid Escape; it falls under the compact SUV category and it’s almost not considered a vehicle. But when it comes to CO2 emissions, it releases 225 grams per mile. That’s 55 grams per mile over the future standard that will be in effect in just two model years,’ he explained.
On Wednesday, Stellantis revealed a $406 million investment plan for Michigan auto plants, perceived as an appeasement gesture towards the union. However, Vitale expressed skepticism about the promise of investment. He communicates wariness about the corporation’s reliability in fulfilling its promises based on past experiences and paints a picture of a future full of potential uncertainty.
He argued, ‘Promises of investment at my workplace, the tech center, have been floating around for years now. To be frank, there’s no evidence yet that these plans are coming to fruition.’ He continued, ‘Promises are made one day, and easily changed the next. This is the reality we workers are dealing with.’
Furthermore, Vitale emphasizes that significant American car manufacturers are grappling with surplus inventory. He pointed out a problematic scenario where companies are leasing additional premises and storing excess vehicles off-site. This issue, he shared, is affecting ‘all three domestics,’ compounding existing industry woes.
However, at a presidential debate in early September, VP Harris defended the administration’s energy policies. She praised its trillion-dollar commitment to a ‘clean energy economy’ and mentioned the recent endorsement by United Auto Workers President, Shawn Fain.
While such a politically-engaged demographic as auto workers lends a voice to the conversation, there seem to be divergent views between rank-and-file members of the UAW and its decidedly Democratic union stewardship. ‘I say this respectfully, the UAW appears unwilling to build bridges,’ offered Gordon about his union’s propensity to favor one political party.
Despite confessing that the UAW endorsement holds substantial influence, Vitale questions whether it will guide the votes of auto workers. As he shared with reporters, ‘Several people, like myself, delve into the nitty-gritty of these issues. Some can’t believe that the union supports politicians who could potentially harm our livelihoods with their advocacies.’