{"id":71644,"date":"2026-01-15T15:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=71644"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:09:35","slug":"whitmer-michigan-ready-to-ramp-up-focus-on-auto-industry-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/whitmer-michigan-ready-to-ramp-up-focus-on-auto-industry-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitmer: Michigan ready to ramp up focus on auto industry success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Michigan\u2019s auto industry needs full support to retain its economic power, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tariffs and Chinese competition pose headwinds for the industry.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The state is finalizing a plan to aid the transition by focusing on worker training and business diversification.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>DETROIT \u2014&nbsp;Gretchen Whitmer took aim at federal tariffs and competition from China on Thursday as she delivered her final address at the Detroit Auto Show as governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/michigan-faces-critical-time-to-retain-its-348b-auto-industry-report\/\">threaten the state\u2019s signature industry<\/a>, which is worth $348 billion and accounts for about one-fifth of the state\u2019s employment, <a href=\"https:\/\/michauto.org\/industry-clusters\/\">about 1.2 million jobs.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michigan, Whitmer said, needs to \u201cstay focused on setting our auto industry up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state this week is releasing its first <a href=\"https:\/\/mitransitionstrategy.org\/\">Michigan Economic Transition Strategy<\/a> to offer a blueprint for workforce development and business diversification, among other goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s not an expectation that we are going to see a massive amount of decline in the industry,\u201d said&nbsp; Johnathan Smith, director of Michigan\u2019s Community and Worker Economic Transition Office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut what there will be is a lot of churn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/michigan-loses-massive-semiconductor-plant-whitmer-blames-national-economic-turmoil\/\">Michigan loses massive semiconductor plant. Whitmer blames \u2018national economic turmoil\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/whitmer-subsidy-record-companies-get-1-billion-jobs-fall-short-promises\/\">Whitmer subsidy record: Companies get $1 billion; jobs fall short of promises<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/michigan-legislators-kill-gretchen-whitmers-2b-cash-for-jobs-program\/\">Michigan legislators kill Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s $2B cash-for-jobs program<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As technology advances, fewer workers are required to make traditional vehicle parts, Smith said, and \u201cemployers are telling us there will be massive shifts in skills needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whitmer singled out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/three-things-you-should-know-about-record-tariff-revenue?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=22458109145&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADusmufXgN_0d8ZYJCEl7zNTJiRT_&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAvaLLBhBFEiwAYCNTf-uiq8gAR4M7aHkvAXnbplPtdDid-17gWvsZ9YrPD1poHtDcB1t-vhoCy98QAvD_BwE\">tariffs<\/a> as another threat, despite President Donald Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/fact-check-donald-trump-touts-economy-downplays-costs-in-michigan-speech\/\">claims during a Detroit speech this week<\/a> that they are helping autoworkers by moving more production back to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTariffs have their place, but they won\u2019t magically restore American manufacturing,\u201d said Whitmer, a Democrat who is in the final year of her second term. \u201cWithout a clear strategy, they hurt us more than our adversaries. We need a strategic national trade policy that encourages competition, fosters innovation, creates jobs and lowers costs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whitmer targeted growth among Chinese automakers, which are rapidly gaining market share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A r<a href=\"https:\/\/michauto.org\/state-of-automobility\/\">eport f<\/a>rom auto industry proponent MichAuto in December said that China produced 31 million vehicles in 2024, up from 4 million two decades earlier. That compares to 10 million made in the US in 2024, down from 12 million.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smith, director of Michigan\u2019s Community and Worker Economic Transition Office, said Chinese auto manufacturers are helped not only by government subsidies but \u201can enormously efficient production process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whitmer\u2019s remarks came one year after she attended the show and warned the state\u2019s economy was \u201con the line.\u201d At the time, she pushed for \u201cnew, better tools\u201d including corporate incentives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Thursday, Whitmer didn\u2019t mention subsidies. Despite Whitmer\u2019s pleas, lawmakers last year did not extend the controversial $2 billion Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund in 2025, and competing subsidy plans were proposed by the Democrat-led Senate and Republican-led House.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMichigan residents expect us to compete and beat other states when it comes to landing job opportunities,\u201d Whitmer said after her address.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan\u2019s governor takes aim at tariffs and Chinese competition while preparing the state to survive rapid industry transition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":966,"featured_media":71646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-01-15T20:09:33Z","apple_news_api_id":"12f53ac5-c04d-46f4-9e02-a0051d0e8074","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-01-15T20:09:34Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AEvU6xcBNRvSeAqAFHQ6AdA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[2438],"tags":[904],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2474],"class_list":["post-71644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-watch","tag-gov-gretchen-whitmer","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gov. 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Gretchen Whitmer walks the floor of the Detroit Auto Show on Thursday saying that Michigan needs to prioritize the industry. 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