How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town
restofworld.org
The ambitious executives at Gotion wanted to join America’s EV gold rush. Then came geopolitics.

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/26734441

  • The Gotion factory highlights the challenges Chinese companies face in the U.S., particularly during a climate of deep political polarization, nationalism, and growing suspicion toward China.
  • A grassroots “No Go” movement, fueled by fears of communism and environmental concerns, successfully stalled the project in Michigan, leading to the ouster of local officials who supported the factory.
  • The Gotion case shows the disconnect between national economic goals and local concerns, especially in communities wary of globalization and foreign investment.
  • TheDarkestShark@lemmy.world
    12·
    9 days ago

    Michigander here, my buddy has a cabin in this town and I’d go up north a few times a year for a long weekend on the river. He also has some family that have lived in Big Rapids forever. His uncle, red as they come, was telling me he thought it was a great idea to bring in more jobs to a smaller college town and that was the general sentiment of the town.

    He also told me that the “No Go On Gotion” movement was started by some wealthy realtor that was salty that Gotion bought up the property surrounding their luxury estate and horse farm to build low cost housing for the future workers. Driving into town there’s an entire road lined with anti-gotion signs on one side, and it just so happens that is the edge of the realtors property.