So, we've got some more news from the formerly great state of Michigan and the leadership of Queen Gretchen.
Big Gretch gave nearly a million bucks to an electric vehicle battery manufacturer that was supposed to bring jobs to the state only to have the manufacturer pack up and move south.
Talk about business savvy!
Akasol. Inc., a subsidiary of BorgWarner, will lay off a total of 188 workers when it closes two separate plants in Hazel Park and Warren on April 14, to shift production of lithium-ion batteries south to enable the company to 'grow above market,' the company said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press.
It's Michigan! They want to be the leaders in the future of auto manufacturing. It's only natural for Detroit to get this deal.
But Whitmer couldn't hold onto it.
Akasol was approved in 2019 for a $2.24 million Michigan Business Development Program grant to build a $40 million manufacturing facility and create 224 jobs, but the taxpayer funding was later amended to $900,000 when the plan was scaled down to 90 jobs, MLive reports.
Akasol fulfilled its agreement by maintaining the 90 jobs through 2023, which means the company can keep the incentives while it abandons its Michigan operations.
It sounds like, even with these incentives, Gretch just couldn't keep the business operating in her borders. Akasol did the bare minimum to keep their $900k boon and then hopped a train out of town the first chance they got.
Gretch:
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