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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan autoworkers who’ve been living under the threat of layoffs are cheering the changes they expect from President-elect Donald Trump, who won the Great Lakes State promising to impose tariffs and slash environmental regulations — though some of their bosses are more circumspect.
Trump vowed throughout the campaign to eliminate the Biden administration’s strict emission standards, dubbing them “electrical vehicle mandates.”
These standards have created a difficult environment for automakers, which have struggled to profit from electric vehicles that even owners want to ditch for gas power.
With his choice of former Rep. Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency head, Trump is already preparing to undo the Biden policies that he’s called a “government assassination” of the auto industry.
Chris Vitale, 51, a technician mechanic for Stellantis (the manufacturer of Jeep and Chrysler) in Macomb County, is a member of the United Auto Workers union, whose president Shawn Fain has insulted Trump on numerous occasions.
He told The Post that most of his co-workers are pleased with the once and future president’s victory.
“Obviously some people have been kind of brainwashed into fear, but I think amongst most people, they were relieved,” said Vitale.
Another Stellantis autoworker, who asked to remain anonymous, similarly told The Post he felt a sense of relief Nov. 5 after a series of layoffs at Stellantis plants.
“Me and multiple people think it’s huge. To be honest, they’re still laying people off from other plants,” he said.
This unnamed autoworker explained he’ll likely be laid off soon, and he hopes Trump’s policies will revive the struggling industry.
“I’m an electrician. So out of a hundred electricians, they’re only gonna keep 43 because they’re basically getting rid of a paint shop and all the other shifts,” he said. “Some of the bosses don’t even know if their badge is gonna work when they come in at night. It’s a scary time.”
The policy changes he’d most like to see are more tariffs and an overhaul of emission regulations.
“I think what’s happening is most people don’t understand about the tariffs. People don’t realize that our country was founded and they used tariffs way before we ever had income tax. And not only will the tariffs help them not send plants out or our vehicles out, but it will also equal the playing field a little bit with other countries,” he said.
Vitale, who’s concerned about increased outsourcing to Mexico, noted its effect on research and development: “It’s important to remember that auto jobs are not just people putting nuts and bolts together on the assembly line. There is all the R&D that goes years in advance. And that is actually one of the most important parts in terms of dollars returned to the economy. So offshoring those jobs is humongously detrimental.”
Both autoworkers want to see emissions regulations reduced.
“You take away that, the emission where they want it set at, or at least lower it, and that changes things too,” said the anonymous mechanic. “Now you can make anything you want here. And I think Trump said that there would be no more penalty or no more fines for emissions. … The regulations are holding stuff down.”
Erin Keating, a Cox Automotive analyst, told The Post that manufacturers also welcome the coming changes — most of them, anyway.
“If Trump is able to potentially delay or defer some of the mandates so that consumer demand can catch up with some of the desired results by the regulations, I think that would be welcome news for the automakers,” said Keating.
“Our feeling is that most automakers would prefer stability over anything else because they plan such long production cycles. So it doesn’t behoove anyone to have these regulations continue to just either completely be threatened to disappear or come back. The electrification transition is already underway.”
These manufacturers already take policy changes into account with their business strategy.
“These are not uncommon things to be prepared for, for automakers. They’re major manufacturers in a global environment. They’re consistently working with regulatory bodies and governing bodies across the world,” Keating said.
But she did express concerns about potential tariff hikes — something Democrats have also gotten behind — as she believes they’ll raise costs for consumers across the board.
“Biden already put tariffs in place for electric vehicles coming from China. Both candidates ran on a platform of looking at tariffs, specifically against China,” said Keating. “Generally everyone feels that tariffs will ultimately impact consumers the worst. But there’s a lot of protectionist vibe out there right now, trying to make sure that we’re bringing manufacturing back home.”
Keating added it’s hard to tell how Trump will implement his tariffs, as his protectionist rhetoric might just be part of his signature madman diplomacy, in which he uses unpredictability to his advantage.
“I think they’re a bargaining chip,” she said. “I don’t know what to think about it yet because he’s not someone who’s easily predictable in that way. He’s predictably unpredictable, and he seems to sway based on what popular opinion says.”