GM is getting over $1 billion in public subsidies from Michiganders for promises of electric vehicle investments – but an analysis by The Guardian found the money comes with few protections for taxpayers. GM must only create 3,200 jobs compared to the 4,000 jobs it publicly stated, a memo obtained by the media outlet found, and if it closes within a few years it still gets to keep most of the money.
Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy told reporter Tom Perkins the package is “a really bad deal for Michigan taxpayers.
The state isn’t alone: “The deal is among a new wave of colossal corporate subsidy packages that lawmakers across the country are cooking up to lure EV manufacturing and more giveaways are in the works. And like other huge corporate sweeteners – notably the $4.8bn used to lure Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to Wisconsin – LeRoy warns these ‘trophy deal’ announcements may help political campaigns, but are also reckless deals that threaten to blow holes in states’ budgets in the coming decades.”
Read the full story at The Guardian.