Trump’s tariffs cost Michigan another 300 manufacturing jobs—and a $50M factory deal

Michigan workers were promised more jobs under President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Instead, they’ve been losing them.

MICHIGAN—A plan to bring 325 new manufacturing jobs and a $50 million investment to Detroit is dead and Michigan workers have President Donald Trump’s tariffs to thank for the loss.

According to reports from Crain’s Detroit Business, Auburn Hills-based Lucerne International Inc. has officially shelved its plans for a new aluminum forging plant in the city of Detroit, citing ballooning costs as a result of President Donald Trump’s frenzied trade policies and tariffs. 

“It’s everything converging at once,” Lucerne CEO Mary Buchzeiger told Crain’s this week. “You’ve got tariffs that are hitting our equipment costs. You’ve got tariffs that are hitting our raw material costs … Programs are being delayed or canceled, margins are being squeezed.”

Lucerne, which makes components for Stellantis, Rivian, and other auto manufacturers, had reportedly been planning the project for years as part of a push to bring production from China to the US. The factory would have created hundreds of jobs. But the company says tariffs on imported equipment—much of which can only be sourced from China—would’ve added millions of dollars to the final cost, ultimately spooking investors and forcing a major change of plans.

A wider pattern of pain

Lucerne’s scrapped factory isn’t an outlier. It’s the latest in a string of investments across Michigan that have fizzled out under Trump’s tariffs and related federal policy, including an Australian mining company that canceled plans for a $210 million EV battery plant in Detroit, a battery startup that has vacated most of its Van Buren Township facility, and a $60 billion microchip project near Flint has been abandoned as a direct result of Trump’s policies.

The final toll on Michigan’s economy could be staggering. Ann Arbor’s Center for Automotive Research reportedly estimates Trump’s tariffs could drain nearly $188 billion from the US auto industry over the next three years. Automakers have reportedly absorbed much of the hit so far, but experts say sticker prices for new cars are likely to rise and production volumes could fall.

Even the added paperwork to navigate tariffs has become a hidden cost. Martinrea International, a Canadian supplier with major operations in Michigan, reportedly had to expand its supply chain team by 30% just to navigate the ever-changing rules around import duties.

“The administration is just overwhelming,” CEO Pat D’Eramo told Crain’s.

Politics and prices

The political debate over Trump’s tariff policies is already seeping into Michigan’s 2026 Senate race. Republican candidate Mike Rogers—so far the only GOP contender—has openly dismissed families worried about higher prices. And at a campaign event this month, Rogers argued that tariffs are “worth the financial strife being put on the American people,” even as the US has lost more than 42,000 manufacturing jobs since new tariffs were implemented in April.

@gandernewsroom

Republican US Senate candidate Mike Rogers laughed off higher prices under Trump’s tariffs. Then, the job numbers came out. Political correspondent Kyle Kaminski connects the dots:

♬ original sound – The Gander

“Mike Rogers’ reckless tariff policies just cost Detroit more than 300 manufacturing jobs and a $50 million investment that was supposed to bring production back from China,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said in a press release sent this week. “While Mike Rogers is out on the campaign trail mocking families worried about higher costs, his failed policies are killing opportunities for Michigan workers to rebuild the state’s manufacturing base.”

READ MORE: 4 ways Trump’s tariff plan threatens Michigan’s economy

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