Tariffs Have Cost Michigan 13,000 Auto Jobs. More Cuts Are Coming.

13,000 Jobs Gone

University of Michigan economists project 13,300 job losses across Michigan’s auto sector from tariff impacts. Not over a decade, but within the next several years. That number includes 3,300 direct auto manufacturing positions and roughly 10,000 more in the supply chain and local economies that depend on them.

Michigan has more vehicle manufacturing jobs than any other state. More than 9% of its gross domestic product is tied to auto.

When tariffs hit this industry, they do not hit Michigan the way they hit other states. They hit it like a plant closure hits a small town. Everywhere, all at once.

“Michigan bears a disproportionate economic risk to trade policy disruption and fluctuation.” Governor Whitmer’s Executive Directive 2026-2

Which Plants Got Hit

The damage is not theoretical. Here is where the layoffs and closures have landed:

Plant	Location	Impact
GM Factory Zero	Detroit/Hamtramck	Reduced to single shift, ~1,200 jobs cut
Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly	Warren	1,000+ workers laid off
Stellantis Warren Stamping	Warren	Production paused, 900 hourly workers affected
Stellantis Sterling Stamping	Sterling Heights	Production paused alongside Warren
Dana Thermal Products	Auburn Hills	Permanently closed, ~200 jobs destroyed
Ford Flat Rock Assembly	Flat Rock	Underutilized, future uncertain
GM Lansing Grand River	Lansing	Underutilized, flagged by UAW

Sources: CNN, CBT News, UAW

The Cost Lands on Workers and Buyers

Detroit’s Big Three reported over $8 billion in tariff exposure. GM’s quarterly profits dropped $1 billion. Stellantis lost $2.7 billion in the first half of the year.

Those losses do not stay on corporate balance sheets. They become layoff notices.

Meanwhile, new vehicle prices are up an estimated $3,100 per vehicle from tariffs on steel, aluminum, and imported parts. Michigan families pay twice: once at the dealership and again when their neighbor’s plant cuts a shift.

Supplier Marelli Holdings (which makes parts for Stellantis and Nissan) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing tariffs as the final blow. When suppliers collapse, the plants they feed follow.

The UAW’s Position

The UAW has supported tariffs in principle as a tool to end decades of offshoring. But UAW President Shawn Fain has issued demands ahead of USMCA renegotiations in July 2026: a “build here to sell here” policy, enforceable cross-border labor standards, and real mechanisms for workers to challenge violations.

The union’s frustration is pointed: tariffs mean nothing if the administration simultaneously guts the NLRB and dissolves collective bargaining protections. You cannot claim to protect workers while dismantling their only tool for fighting back.

What You Can Do

Write your representatives on Resistbot and demand tariff policy that protects workers, not just balance sheets. Michigan’s senators and House delegation need to hear from constituents in affected communities.
Ask your member of Congress whether they support USMCA renegotiation terms that include enforceable labor standards, not just tariff rates.
Share this with anyone in Michigan’s auto corridor. The 13,000 job projection is not a scare number. It is a University of Michigan economic forecast based on current policy.

Michigan is the state where tariff policy becomes kitchen-table reality. Every shuttered shift, every bankruptcy filing, every $3,100 price hike on a new truck lands here first and hardest. This is what economic policy looks like when nobody is watching the math.