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Will EVs Ruin The Midwest Economy?

Sep 4, 2022  After manufacturing's 40-year cycle of decline in the U.S., officials in Washington are trying to bring it back. This move could be a boom or bust for huge swaths of the American Midwest. This region once dominated the auto industry before rising global trade and automation sent domestic manufacturing employment into a tailspin. U.S. leaders hope that new laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will help businesses create the green manufacturing jobs of the future.

Researchers believe modern factory jobs will require more education and could be less available than they were in the past. They estimate that electric vehicles could require 30% less manufacturing labor when compared with conventional cars. "The lines that run to drive oil or gas around an internal combustion engine aren't going to be there," said Cooley.

Leaders in Washington hope two key pieces of legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act, which were signed into law by President Joe Biden in August, will provide a bridge to that future. These laws authorize billions in incentives for businesses that pursue clean energy manufacturing.

Watch the video to learn more about how the electric vehicle revolution will impact the economies of states across the U.S. Midwest.