Marshall’s economic development agency touts job growth, but numbers show a decline

The Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance touts an increase in jobs and revitalization since Ford’s Blue Oval plant was built in the city using taxpayer dollars, but the numbers do not align with the claim.

The area has lost jobs since it landed the big manufacturer with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, according to James Hohman, fiscal policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Hohman cautioned against focusing on a single number.

“All industries are connected and some have wider effects than others and that’s why it’s important to look at the data and the broader trends,” Hohman said.

Employment in Calhoun County is down by 2,895 people since Ford’s announcement in July 2023, a 4.8% decline, Hohman told Michigan Capital Confidential in an email.

There were 3,107 unemployed people in the county in July 2023, making for an unemployment rate of 4.9%.

There were 3,519 unemployed residents in July 2026, with an unemployment rate of 5.8%, which

Both measurements exceeded state averages.

The unemployment rate in Michigan was 4.4% with 221,449 unemployed in July 2023.

The state’s unemployment increased to 5.4%, with 260,824 unemployed residents in July 2026, according to data tracked by the Mackinac Center.

The Marshall economic agency did not provide a comment.

“The primary impact to date has been in construction workers on site buying food and supplies in Marshall as well as the impact of temporary Chinese workers housed in the area,” Glenn Kowalske, treasurer for the city of Marshall, told CapCon in an email.

There has been no clear increase in new home sales that can be attributed to the Ford Blue Oval Battery Plant or the Marshall Mega Site, he added.

“In fact, we are seeing residents in Squaw Creek, and the surrounding areas, having to lower their sale price to attract buyers,” Kowalske added.

Marshall Township, according to the treasurer, lost over 50 homes to the development and residents remain very concerned about their future.

Ford announced it would, with the use of taxpayer dollars, build the Blue Oval plant in Marshall in July 2023.

The company announced it would add 2,500 jobs to the area and later revised the number downward to 1,700 jobs.

The state, according to a study published by Hohman on June 24, originally authorized $210 million in taxpayer subsidies along with additional tax breaks in 2023, to build the battery plant.

The subsidy was later reduced to $166 million.

It also provided a total of $780 million in several rounds of funding for site preparation to the local economic development agency.

Hohman noted in the study that the state had not yet disbursed the $166 million in funding.

The plant has added 146 jobs as of June.