Midland Daily News: Michigan lawmakers blame Trump policies for SK Siltron closure near Bay City
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet are criticizing the Trump administration for economic policies that they blame for the loss of jobs in mid-Michigan.
The two Democratic lawmakers addressed media at a press conference at the Bay City Education Association building, just a few blocks from SK Siltron CSS, which announced in mid-July that it is closing its Monitor Township facility, near Bay City, leading to a loss of 140 jobs.
“The instability in the market, the claw back of incentives, the elimination of a major product that SK Siltron is building — those are the things that caused them to not just shutter, but they were in the process of growing when they launched here,” McDonald Rivet said on Thursday. “This was actually a key in bringing advanced manufacturing back to mid-Michigan. Those doors are closed.”
SK Siltron’s high-quality silicon carbine wafers are used in electric vehicles, allowing faster charging times and further range compared to EVs with traditional silicon semiconductors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s website. The company was previously awarded $6 million by the state but now will be repaying the state subsidies, according to a spokesperson.
It was the latest in a series of recent closures to affect mid-Michigan. In November 2025, SK Siltron CSS closed its Auburn facility, citing slowdown in the electric vehicle market. XALT Energy, which produced batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles, announced the closure of its Midland and Auburn Hills locations in October 2025, citing a decrease in demand for electric and hybrid vehicles.
In July 2025, Sandisk Corporation stopped its efforts to use a Genesee County megasite for a massive semiconductor project, citing uncertainty at the federal level.
SK Siltron cited changing market conditions as its reason for pulling out of Monitor Township, but McDonald Rivet said federal policy, including tariffs, was to blame for those conditions.
“The market conditions were set by policy - really bad policy - from this administration,” McDonald Rivet said. “When we make ideological decisions to do things like take sources of energy off the table, when we create a chaotic tariff regime that changes multiple times, and are reckless in the way that we approach trade in general and what is important for business to thrive — it's that chaos that causes businesses to close.”
Slotkin recalled the SK Siltron CCS facility’s opening in 2022, when then-President Joe Biden came to Michigan to celebrate the project.
“It was going to mean hundreds of new, good-paying jobs; a middle-class life. Unfortunately, I'm back here to have this conference after getting contacted by the same company to say, ‘Actually, we're shutting our doors,’” Slotkin said. “I don't think the symbolism and the irony of that is missed by anyone.”
Slotkin echoed McDonald Rivet’s assertions about the Trump administration, blaming tariffs and other Trump administration actions for economic uncertainty and saying the administration had unfairly targeted clean energy.
“The president decided that certain types of energy were good and certain types of energy were bad and woke,” she said. “The truth is, every single one of us is using more power. We all need all kinds of energy.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai gave a statement that attributed the SK Siltron CSS closure to what Desai called Biden's "Green New Scam policies."
"Biden and Democrats pushed unpopular EV mandates and then threw billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize uneconomic EV and EV part manufacturing. President Trump’s economic agenda, on the other hand, has a proven track record of creating jobs and economic growth, and as these policies and trillions in investments continue to materialize, Americans can count on more relief ahead," Desai said in part of the statement published by WNEM.