Michigan is ground zero for states impacted by the incredible disruptions of the US trade war.
Ever since the tariffs were announced, Michigan has been hemorrhaging factories…
And more factories…seriously, the hits keep coming…
Especially across the food and beverage industries, which are particularly trade war-sensitive for reasons we’ll get into later.
And, unfortunately, it looks like the pain isn’t over yet.
More specifically, Cole’s Quality Foods (purveyor of many frozen garlicky foods – think Texas toast, breadsticks, garlic bread, and the like) just announced that it halted operations at its Muskegon plant, with administrative work at the plant expected to continue until November 9th – when the plant will permanently shut down.
That’s 171 jobs in Muskegon (population: ~37,000) gone.
Cole’s had been an important employer in Muskegon since 1943 – a true pillar of the community – and the loss hurts far more than “just” the loss of all those jobs. (Although, to be clear, in a small town like Muskegon, losing nearly 200 jobs is a huge impact all on its own.)
It’s a loss of community. Of stability. Of a company many likely thought would always be there. (After all, Cole’s was founded in Muskegon.)
And unfortunately, the age of the plant may be a sign that this was going to happen at some point.
After all, old plants aren’t usually set up for all the technological developments that came after their construction (unless someone was incredibly lucky or had amazing foresight), meaning that there were likely inefficiencies that couldn’t be easily ironed out. Cole’s has upgraded facilities before, of course, but there’s only so much you can do given the initial design without a full rebuild…and, of course, that’s all expensive, too.
The food industry in general has been beset by all kinds of headwinds for the last few years – stubborn inflation and labor shortages come to mind – and unfortunately 2025 has made a bad situation even worse.
The trade war has presented US food suppliers with a double-whammy of bad news: With exports falling and anti-American boycotts spreading (which, of course, hurts sales), the economy has slowed down and impacted domestic demand, too.
Plus, there’s been a real shift away from frozen food and toward healthier alternatives.
So it’s not at all surprising that companies like Cole’s have been downsizing.
Nonetheless, it’s still a terrible deal for the impacted, hardworking Michiganders (who did nothing wrong and have been loyal to the company, likely some for their whole careers), and my heart goes out to them.
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