July 18, 2025 /SemiMedia/ —SanDisk has withdrawn plans to build a $55 billion semiconductor fabrication facility in Mundy Township, Michigan, dealing a major setback to the state’s ambitions to lead next-generation chip production in the U.S.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer confirmed the decision in a July 16 statement, following more than a year of behind-the-scenes efforts by state and local officials to secure what would have been one of Michigan's largest-ever manufacturing investments.

The project was expected to bring up to 10,000 jobs to Genesee County and had been touted as a cornerstone of the state's advanced manufacturing zone. The Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance had secured over $260 million from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to acquire and prepare a 1,300-acre site for the plant. Demolition of existing structures was underway throughout 2025.

However, the deal began to unravel this spring amid stalled federal incentive talks and heightened political rhetoric surrounding the Biden-backed CHIPS Act. In March, former President Donald Trump denounced the legislation as “terrible,” arguing that companies would only build plants in the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

“This is a devastating blow to working families in our region,” said Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet. “We need clear, long-term solutions—not chaos and disorder that cost us a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”