Michigan loses massive semiconductor plant. Whitmer blames ‘national economic turmoil’

• Company planning a $55 billion semiconductor manufacturing complex near Flint pulled the plug on the deal
• Sandisk’s decision was prompted by ‘national economic turmoil’ Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said
• About $260 million in taxpayer funding has been spent on preparing a 1,300-acre megasite for the factory

The company planning a massive semiconductor manufacturing center that promised 10,000 jobs near Flint pulled the plug on the deal this week, according to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who blamed the move on “national economic turmoil." 

The Sandisk Corporation had been eying the Genesee County megasite — about 1,300 acres so far, funded by $260 million in taxpayer dollars. Michigan was the company’s “preferred destination,” Whitmer said Monday in a statement. 

The firm’s decision to drop the project, reportedly valued at $55 billion, followed a years-long effort to assemble the massive property, which the state’s economic developers said was a top site in the nation for such a facility. 

Whitmer has made the project a central focus of her second term. In May, she laid out her goal to land a major semiconductor fabrication plant by the end of next year — her last in office.

“This would be a transformational, once-in-a-century investment,” Whitmer said at the time, estimating the potential project could create as many as 12,000 construction jobs and as many as 6,000 permanent positions. “It would change the destiny of an entire region.”

State and local officials began preparing the megasite during the Biden administration as federal funding flowed into advanced manufacturing, including electric vehicle makers and semiconductor companies. 

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But the Trump administration has promised since taking office January to examine and in many cases halt the spending. Whitmer has traveled to the White House to lobby for the Sandisk deal and others that appeared to have the potential to rock Michigan’s economy if canceled.

So far, the situation remains in flux. At the same time, economic uncertainty under Trump — who has used tariffs to try to boost US manufacturing — “is at risk of worsening amid threats of even higher tariffs,” Whitmer, a Democrat, warned Wednesday.

That, she added, influenced Sandisk’s decision to halt the signature deal for Michigan. The company’s board determined that it will not “move forward with plans to construct a semiconductor plant anywhere in the United States,” Whitmer said.

Sandisk did not comment to Bridge on Wednesday morning. A spokesperson said the $6 billion public company was in its “quiet period” ahead of investor earnings reports. 

Blaming Trump or national economic trends for the stalled Michigan project is not appropriate, said Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall. 

"Tariffs are a major argument in favor of companies building and investing in America – not overseas," Hall, R-Richland Township, said in a statement. 

He predicted the "big, beautiful" tax and spending cut bill Trump signed into law earlier this month will "usher in an unprecedented age of semiconductor growth and high-tech job creation" in the US. 

"These companies will soon be competing with each other to find the best spots to hire American workers and build their products here at home," Hall said. 

Sandisk had reportedly sought funding for the project through the federal CHIPS Act, which was signed by former President Joe Biden but more recently criticized by Trump. The law dedicated $52 billion toward increasing US production of semiconductors. 

Messer, the MEDC head, said Wednesday that the Michigan megasite represented the “strongest community impact partnership in the entire US” by the time it was named the final site choice for the semiconductor factory. 

“While economic factors outside of the state’s control ultimately proved insurmountable to this greenfield project moving forward in the US, we are proud of the tremendous work … for what would have been a generational semiconductor fab investment,” Messer said in a statement.

Genesee County business leaders have appeared united behind the megasite, with many expressing confidence that the community could fulfill hiring needs. 

The megasite “represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create thousands of local jobs after decades of job losses, disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued high prices due to lingering inflation,” according to a letter of support signed last year by more than two dozen community businesses and institutions. 

While Sandisk reportedly was close to inking a deal, the Flint-Genesee Economic Alliance has been marketing the site to many other companies, CEO Tyler Rossmaessler said in May. 

“Interest in the Mundy Township site is high among advanced manufacturers because of itsunique characteristics,” he told Bridge last spring, listing proximity to a railroad, Bishop airport and I-69 and I-75.

“This site … could be used by a variety of advanced manufacturers,” Rossmaessler said.

However, the potential development has also divided the Mundy Township community as they watched homes and farm fields — and even a subdivision — targeted for the factory. Swartz Creek Schools is weighing a $40 million offer for 400-student Morrish Elementary, yet another sign of how the community has had to adapt to the project. 

“They’re going to rip down all these houses for a company that we don't know who it is,” Steven Philips, who has lived across from the site for 30 years, told Bridge last spring.

“Politicians, starting at our township and the governor, made a choice that they’re going to do this. We had no say in it. At all.”

One community leader who's been concerned about the upheaval in the township and the lack of full local input said Wednesday she was pleased Sandisk is pulling out of the project.

“That’s wonderful news,” Jennifer Arrand, the Mundy Township supervisor who was elected in November on an anti-megasite platform, told Bridge.

So far, 1,194 acres have been purchased, with another 95 under contract, according to the Flint-Genesee Economic Alliance. The economic development group leading the development also said that demolition has been ongoing since spring. 

Arrand said that she hopes the state can attract a manufacturer with fewer environmental risks than chip-making. 

Whitmer, too, appears to be looking ahead to the next potential deal that could take the megasite to the finish line. 

“We will continue to compete with other states and countries to bring cutting-edge factories home to Michigan,” Whitmer said Wednesday. 

“While I will keep doing whatever is in my power to build on Michigan’s economic momentum, there is no doubt that national economic uncertainty will make this harder,” she said. “We will keep bringing people together to get big things done.”