Detroit Outlook in Auto Electrification

[Nathan Jenson]

All the automakers out there are making big commitments for rapid electrification of vehicles and manufacturing appears to be moving out of the Detroit area. 

The way I see it, even if all the existing auto plants in Detroit remain but are just converted to electric, it seems the job base in the area would still be greatly diminished - there are far fewer components in the electric cars and less people are needed to manufacture them, not to mention that more components are being outsourced. I know there are a couple investments (GM Factory Zero and GM Lake Orion, Ford Battery facility) but it seems a lot of the auto manufacturing is moving to other states/countries, and these investments are merely replacing other facilities. I am not seeing a lot to suggest that the industry will be sustained or replaced with something new in the next 10-15 years. That being said, population projections seem to show a different story for the area. Am I missing something? Any thoughts?