Trump EV Policy Shift Puts 27,000 US Auto Jobs at Risk

The Trump administration's rollback of electric-vehicle policies has stalled a wave of planned US auto-factory investments and put roughly 27,000 announced EV-related jobs at risk, according to a Reuters analysis of investment data.

The shift comes as the administration promotes a revival of gasoline-powered vehicle manufacturing, but investment data show a sharp slowdown in new EV and battery projects across the United States.

How the US EV Investment Boom Reversed

Between 2019 and 2024, investment in US auto manufacturing more than doubled compared with the previous six years. According to the analysis, all of that additional growth was connected to electric vehicles and batteries.

The investment surge was driven partly by efforts to build a domestic EV supply chain and reduce US dependence on China.

Key policy measures included:

• Stricter fuel-economy and emissions standards under President Joe Biden.
• Tens of billions of dollars in incentives for domestic battery production.
• A $7,500 federal tax credit for qualifying EV buyers.

The policy environment changed after Trump returned to the White House.

His administration eliminated the $7,500 EV tax credit, weakened tailpipe-emissions requirements and froze penalties associated with fuel-efficiency targets. It also imposed tariffs on some battery materials and tightened immigration enforcement, creating additional challenges for foreign engineers working at US battery facilities.

Automakers Cancel or Delay EV Projects

The policy changes have coincided with a sharp decline in planned EV-related investment.

Automotive executives have pointed particularly to the loss of the consumer tax credit as an important factor behind decisions to delay or cancel projects.

Ford CEO Jim Farley previously said the decline in EV sales after the tax credit expired was “really the impetus” for a major writedown involving the company's EV projects.

The slowdown is reflected in investment figures from Atlas Public Policy.

Nearly $20 billion in EV-related projects were cancelled last year, while new investment announcements fell to approximately $6.5 billion. That represented only about 29% of the previous year's level and was a fraction of the roughly $55 billion peak recorded in 2023.

27,000 Jobs at Risk

Projects cancelled between January 2025 and August 2026 had announced plans for approximately 27,000 jobs, according to the analysis.

The actual impact could be larger because some project announcements did not include employment estimates. The calculation also excludes projects that were scaled back without being completely cancelled.

Around 80% of the cancelled investments are located in states that Trump won in the 2024 presidential election, including areas of the so-called Battery Belt, which stretches from Georgia through the Midwest to Indiana.

Despite the administration's push to bring more traditional vehicle manufacturing back to the US, total US auto-manufacturing employment has fallen 1.3% since January 2025, reaching about 963,000 workers in August.

The data therefore have not yet shown a net employment increase from tariff-driven reshoring or the shift toward gasoline-powered vehicles.

Lordstown Battery Plant Faces Layoffs

The effects are visible at individual factories.

At the $2.3 billion GM-LG Ultium Cells battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, approximately 1,300 workers were employed when the facility opened in 2022.

After EV demand weakened following the end of the federal tax credit, the joint venture indefinitely laid off about 480 employees. Most of the remaining roughly 850 workers were also told they would not be required for several months.

Production resumed in mid-August after some employees were recalled, but approximately 600 workers remained on indefinite layoff, according to the report.

Ford's Kentucky Battery Project Scaled Back

A similar situation has emerged at Ford and SK On's BlueOval SK battery complex in Glendale, Kentucky.

The companies invested approximately $5.8 billion in the project and initially promised around 5,000 jobs, making it one of the largest economic-development projects in the state's history.

In late 2025, approximately 1,500 workers were told to stay home as the project was scaled back.

Ford now plans to employ around 2,100 workers at the Glendale facility to produce energy-storage batteries beginning in late 2027.

That would be less than half the original planned workforce, while production would begin years later than initially expected.

US EV Industry Faces Global Competition

The slowdown also has implications beyond individual factories.

The US is competing with China and Europe, where EV sales have continued to expand amid strong consumer demand, greater competition and government support.

Some analysts argue that a stronger focus on gasoline-powered vehicles could benefit certain US manufacturers in the short term while creating challenges in international markets where electric vehicles are becoming increasingly important.

One economist cited in the report warned that the US risks producing vehicles that are less aligned with what consumers in other major markets want.

Could Battery Plants Shift to Energy Storage?

Some unused EV battery capacity could eventually be repurposed for grid-scale energy-storage batteries.

Demand for energy storage is growing alongside the expansion of artificial intelligence and data centres, which require increasing amounts of electricity and backup capacity.

However, analysts say energy-storage demand is unlikely to immediately absorb all dormant EV-focused factory capacity. Converting facilities and production lines can also take months or years.