Ford received huge incentive packages from state and local governments for new investments (factories, battery plants, etc.). A prominent example is Ford’s plan to build an EV battery plant in Marshall, Michigan. In 2022, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration granted Ford $210 million in direct taxpayer funding, plus other tax abatements, to secure this project. However, by 2023 Ford downsized the project (fewer jobs than promised). Taxpayer watchdogs slammed the deal as one-sided – Ford still gets its two $105 million payments regardless of delivering the full jobs, and much of the state money (for land, site prep) is not refundable at all . The Mackinac Center (a policy think-tank) warned “Michigan taxpayers will lose on [this] Ford deal”, calling it the “Worst Economic Development Deal of the Year”. While not illegal per se, such deals raise ethical questions: Ford, a wealthy corporation, wielding outsized influence to obtain public money with scant accountability. It hints at cronyism – Ford’s strong political connections enabling sweetheart deals. (Michigan has a long history of big incentives for automakers, often criticized as corporate welfare.)
https://www.mackinac.org/blog/2023/michigan-taxpayers-will-lose-on-ford-deal#:~:text=in%20the%20short%20term%2C%20and,number%20of%20people%20or%20not