Sacramento’s crusade to banish fossil fuels isn’t merely destroying jobs in California. It’s harming workers in other states too. On Thursday Chrysler parent Stellantis warned 3,600 auto workers in the Midwest that they could lose their jobs owing to California’s electric-vehicle mandate.
Stellantis said it plans to cut a shift at a Jeep plant in Detroit and adjust production at another in Toledo, Ohio, citing “the need to manage sales of the vehicles they produce to comply with California emissions regulations.” The changes, the auto maker added, would provide flexibility in the event “regulations or marketplace allows for an increase in volume” of gas-powered cars.
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On April 24th, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed an executive order that will put the brakes on a car factory in Toledo, Ohio that was slated to employ 1,100 people. The factory was being constructed by the Chinese-backed electric car startup Fisker Automotive, but the governor’s order prohibits the company from receiving any state funds, including a $416 million loan that was granted by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The order is meant to protect California’s zero-emission vehicle goals, which focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Fisker Automotive has yet to make a car, and since the company does not currently meet the emissions standards set forth in the governor’s executive order, the state has decided to withhold the loan.
In a statement, Newsom said that California “will not compromise on our strict standards or our taxpayers’ dollars” and that he had “imposed the toughest standards in the nation to combat climate change and protect vulnerable communities.” He added that California was doing its part to make good on its commitment to reduce emissions from vehicles.
The decision to halt the project in Toledo was met with fierce criticism from Ohio’s Republican senators, Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown. Portman called the decision “disappointing” and said that “it is unfair to the workers and families of northwest Ohio who were counting on good-paying jobs.” Brown said he was “disappointed and frustrated” that the California governor’s decision would cost Ohioans jobs.
The decision to halt the construction of the Fisker Automotive plant in Toledo could have far-reaching effects on the state and the country as a whole. At a time when the economy is still struggling to recover from the pandemic, the loss of the promised jobs is a huge blow to the people of Ohio who were counting on the new jobs.
It is unclear if the Fisker factory will ever get built and if the 1,100 jobs will ever materialize, but what is clear is that the governor of California has stood up for his state’s commitment to reducing vehicle emissions. It will be up to Ohio’s political leaders to plead their case and find a way to bring those jobs back to their state.
