- Economic development firm The Right Place released its three-year strategic plan on Thursday
- The plan calls for enticing tech jobs and businesses to the region, including data centers and AI
- The region has found economic success, but faces headwinds
West Michigan’s economy faces headwinds, as a plurality of businesses expect job losses and 1 in 10 say they expect artificial intelligence will lead to fewer workers, according to a new economic forecast.
For years the leader of growth in Michigan, hiring in west Michigan slowed in the second half of 2025, while sales are expected to slow this year, according to an economic forecast prepared by Grand Valley State University.
Already, a major Grand Rapids insurance company has laid off 200 in west Michigan because leaders believe AI can do that work. Across the region, more than 1,900 people lost their jobs to layoffs or plant closures last year, according to a tracking by WOOD TV. West Michigan layoffs have trended upward in recent years even as statewide layoffs declined.
“The word for the economy last year was ‘uncertainty,’” said Andy Johnston, senior vice president of strategic initiatives for the Grand Rapids Chamber. “The word for this year was ‘slow.’ It reinforced that smart leadership, steady planning will be really important for our region.”
The lackluster forecast comesas west Michigan’s main economic development agency, The Right Place, on Thursday launched a three-year plan in hopes of growing jobs in AI, data centers, aerospace and medical device manufacturing, among other industries.
The economy is shaping up as a key issue in Michigan’s 2026 campaigns for governor, US Senate and other seats. Nearly 1 in 10 of more than 2,000 respondents to Bridge Listens, our unscientific survey of Michiganders’ leading concerns, named the economy as their prime issue.
Ranked against similar metro areas around the country, the Grand Rapids region slipped in 2024 in population growth and economic output but gained ground in its concentration of tech jobs and overall employment growth, The Right Place said in its strategic plan report released Thursday.
The agency in 2021 launched an effort to gain 20,000 tech jobs for the Grand Rapids region in 10 years, making tech 10% of the region’s workforce. Headed into the halfway point, the region has added 5,600 tech jobs.
Randy Thelen, president and CEO of The Right Place, acknowledged the obstacles but remained confident the group could meet its goals by 2028.
“It doesn’t just happen,” he said. “If we’re gonna cut through some of the headwinds, it’s gonna take a lot of work, a lot of hustle.”
Johnston agreed in a separate interview, saying the region can “have an impact on controlling our own destiny” if it can create a talent pipeline and build enough housing for workers.
“We can still attract that workforce that we need and grow our population,” he said.
Greater Grand Rapids added 6,000 housing units between 2022 and 2024 but will be short nearly 40,000 units by 2030, The Right Place said in its report.
The Right Place’s report found plenty of optimism, not the least of which is that the economic development company met several goals for west Michigan outlined in its 2023 to 2025 plan.
Among others, it added or retained a net 4,153 jobs when it hoped to add or retain 4,000, and it helped bring the average hourly wage for the region to $30.90 when it aimed for $26.50.
In the next three years, it hopes to add or retain a net 4,500 jobs and attract $700 million in capital investment and $200 million in community development.
The firm hopes to accomplish those goals by working to bring investment in manufacturing, health sciences and tech.
‘Don’t wanna be caught unprepared’
Despite the risks of AI, the firm hopes to bring the region new investments in tech — including data centers and companies working in aerospace, defense, food processing and advanced manufacturing — and help existing firms adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence.
“We don’t want to be caught unprepared while other regions advance” in tech, Thelen said. “To keep that diversified portfolio, we need to grow tech as part of that portfolio.”
The firm plans to partner with Grand Valley State University, which is investing $166 million into building a new tech hub in Grand Rapids by 2028, and other universities to help build a talent pipeline.
Over the last three years, The Right Place has conducted 130 assessments of west Michigan manufacturers to gauge their readiness for Industry 4.0, a roadmap for automation and AI integration to modernize factories.
The firm plans to expand those assessments over the next three years and help manufacturers adopt more tech into their work.
The firm plans to grow membership in MiDevice, a consortium of Michigan-based medical device manufacturers, and seek to bring new medical device manufacturers to town and encourage new startups.
The firm also aims to increase internship programs, help the Grand Rapids airport add new nonstop destinations, and work with local governments to invest in outdoor recreation in the region.
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