FACT CHECK: Trump Claims He is Bringing Back American Manufacturing Days After GM Lays Off 1,100 Michigan Workers

According to the December jobs report from the BLS, 68,000 manufacturing jobs have been in the past year

Washington, DC – In Michigan today, Trump claimed that Ford and General Motors are investing in American jobs thanks to him, but both companies have laid off thousands of auto-workers in Kentucky and Michigan as a result of his reckless policies. Just last week, General Motors permanently laid off 1,100 workers at their all-electric Factory Zero plant. In December, Ford shuttered its electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky, ending 1,600 jobs. Ford CEO Jim Farley blamed the repeal of tax incentives in Trump and the GOP’s budget bill for the company’s decision to pull back on EV production. Trump’s war on clean energy has canceled or stalled 165,531 clean energy jobs – sending jobs overseas and hiking up utility costs 13%. 

FACT: Trump claims automakers are investing in American manufacturing jobs thanks to him, but 8,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in December, the 8th straight month of job losses in the sector. 

 FACT: Ford’s all electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky closed its doors in December 2025, killing 1,600 jobs. 

FACT: In October, General Motors permanently laid off 1,200 workers at its electric vehicle plant in Detroit, along with hundreds of additional permanent and temporary layoffs at battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee. 

FACT: In Michigan alone, 20 clean energy manufacturing projects have been put on hold or canceled under Trump’s watch. 

FACT: After being put on pause following Donald Trump’s tariffs and escalating war on clean energy, General Motors announced that it would be canceling a planned $55 million factory that would have created 300 good-paying jobs for Michiganders. 

FACT: In September, Fortescue blamed U.S. “policy settings” and the elimination of “critical tax credits” in Trump and Republicans’ budget bill for the cancellation of their $210 million Detroit EV battery factory. 

FACT: Trump inherited an unprecedented boom in new U.S. factory construction, driven largely by clean energy investments, and has promptly reversed it.