Speaking of Energy - Green Jobs to lay off 140 Michigan workers

Remember Granholm's multiple proclamations that Michigan would be a Green Energy mecca and that Green Energy = jobs for Michiganders?

Not so fast.

Energy Conversion Devices to lay off 140

From the Detroit Free Press:

Energy Conversion Devices said this morning that it plans to layoff 140 employees at one of its solar panel plants in Auburn Hills.

The layoffs are likely to occur in October when the Rochester Hills-based company plans to move some final assembly work to one of its underutilized plants in Tijuana, Mexico.

The affected Auburn Hills plant will not be idled and will employ 140 workers after the layoffs. But to reduce costs, only the first three steps in the thin film solar panel manufacturing process will occur there, said Martha Duggan, ECD’s vice president of government and regulatory affairs.

. . .

ECD is still proceeding with plans to retrofit its manufacturing line at the affected Auburn Hills plant with next-generation technology. In January, ECD had received a federal tax credit for making this investment, which is expected to create 600 jobs over time.

Glad to see those tax credits creating expected jobs while layoffs occur now isn't it. Anyone know the amount of that tax credit? Perhaps those 140 people laid off will be counted as jobs "saved or created" with the credit if they're rehired later.

It is certainly interesting that it is more cost effective for ECD to ship solar panels from Michigan all the way to Mexico for finishing and it still saves them money to do so. It must burn up a lot of carbon credits to ship them so far.