If you missed the news, two major expansions for Michigan companies announced their site locations. Michigan lost.
The first expansion involved Michigan losing out on Ford’s $11.4 billion Electric Vehicle investment as well as the creation of 11,000 jobs. It went to two states: Tennessee and Kentucky.
If the sting of that loss wasn’t enough to open our eyes to the need for a comprehensive economic development strategy, we learned that another deal for expansion by Leprino Foods of Remus; the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese is going to Lubbock, Texas and it meant losing out on $870 million in investment and 600 jobs. The company had ample room to put the expansion in Michigan, but the state’s economic development tools didn’t even come close to competing.
The first expansion involved Michigan losing out on Ford’s $11.4 billion Electric Vehicle investment as well as the creation of 11,000 jobs. It went to two states: Tennessee and Kentucky.
If the sting of that loss wasn’t enough to open our eyes to the need for a comprehensive economic development strategy, we learned that another deal for expansion by Leprino Foods of Remus; the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese is going to Lubbock, Texas and it meant losing out on $870 million in investment and 600 jobs. The company had ample room to put the expansion in Michigan, but the state’s economic development tools didn’t even come close to competing.
