Governor Gretchen Whitmer's eight flagship business subsidy deals promised to create 20,595 jobs in Michigan but have delivered just 602 jobs so far — only 3% of what was announced. The state spent $1.8 billion of the $2.7 billion authorized for these projects, according to a report published June 24, 2026, by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The report, authored by James M. Hohman, analyzed every major deal worth more than $100 million that Whitmer promoted during her eight-year term from 2019 to 2026. Two deals created only vacant fields, two were canceled completely, and one produced a largely unused facility.
The eight deals covered automotive and battery manufacturers between May 2019 and May 2024. A 2019 Fiat Chrysler deal promising 6,433 jobs was dismissed by the state after the company failed to meet requirements, creating no jobs that the state attributes to the subsidy. A $666 million deal with General Motors and LG Energy Solutions in 2022 projected 4,000 jobs but has created 408 at a battery plant, after GM sold its stake and abandoned plans for electric vehicle production at another facility. Our Next Energy received $70 million and created 48 jobs, then laid off 45% of its workforce in early 2026 — leaving a mostly empty building the company is trying to lease. Ford's Marshall battery plant, which received $780 million in site preparation funds, is still under construction and reports zero jobs, with projections already cut from 2,500 to 1,700. The Gotion deal promising 2,350 jobs produced only cleared land before being canceled, while Billerud's $200 million arrangement to retain 1,240 paper mill jobs was abandoned 18 months after announcement. The Mundy Township semiconductor site received $200 million, demolished a school, and produced an empty field after the unnamed company — later revealed to be SanDisk — walked away from a proposed 7,400 jobs.
Whitmer described these deals using sweeping language. The report documents her calling the Fiat Chrysler agreement "a historic day for Michigan" that sent "an irrefutable signal that Michigan remains the automotive capital of the world." She said the GM deal would make "transformational investments in our economy," while the Ford Marshall project marked "another historic economic win for the state." The Gotion plant would "shore up our status as the global hub of mobility and electrification," she said, and the Our Next Energy facility would create "a sustainable, clean energy economy." Hohman writes that the report found these deals "rarely deliver on their promises," citing a 20-year assessment showing major subsidy deals announced between 2000 and 2020 produced just 9% of promised jobs on average. Whitmer's 3% delivery rate falls well below that benchmark.
The report explains that even if all these deals had performed as promised, they would have replaced only 2% of the jobs Michigan loses in a single year. The state's employers created an average of 884,580 jobs annually from 2019 to 2024 while eliminating 878,843 jobs each year over the same period, according to the report's analysis. Net job creation in Michigan added just 42,700 jobs from January 2019 to April 2026 — a 1% increase that ranked ninth-worst among all states. The 602 jobs these eight deals actually created account for 0.01% of total job creation during Whitmer's term. Hohman notes it's "difficult for even the $1.8 billion of subsidies spent on these projects over eight years to have a material difference on the state's $730 billion-per-year economic production." The report points to rigorous evaluations showing targeted subsidies for select businesses produce little impact on economic growth. State officials often feel compelled to write big checks when businesses consider relocating or expanding, because voters want to hear lawmakers are creating jobs — but the deals consistently fail to deliver broad economic gains.
The report concludes that voters and lawmakers should adopt far more skepticism toward future economic development deals. The Michigan Legislature authorized no new business subsidies in 2025, the first time since at least 2000, potentially signaling a shift in approach after these high-profile failures. Two battery plants still under construction offer some hope for job creation, but their projections have already been revised downward and won't fulfill original promises. The report's bottom line: marquee economic development deals rarely work out as announced, and selective business subsidies fail to drive economic growth. Michigan's economy struggled during Whitmer's active subsidy agenda, adding the ninth-fewest jobs of any state — proof that billions in taxpayer dollars can't replace the decisions made by millions of people responding to their own opportunities.