Indiana Manufacturing Tariff Job Losses Hit 9,100 as Grid and Workforce Pressures Build

Indiana manufacturing tariff job losses reached an estimated 9,100 positions in 2025: the second-hardest hit state in the Midwest, behind Michigan's 12,400. Indiana households absorbed roughly $2,600 in added annual costs from tariff-driven price increases, about double the national average of $1,300. Four other developments landed the same week: a $9.1 million apprenticeship grant package from Governor Braun, an IURC commissioner on the record about data center load, a 1,520-megawatt gas plant filing in Spencer County, and a $6.25 million expansion in Wayne County.

Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: How many Indiana manufacturing jobs did 2025 tariffs cost?
A: An estimated 9,100, second-highest in the Midwest behind Michigan's 12,400, out of 41,700 lost across six states. Treat that figure as a floor, because the Supreme Court review of IEEPA tariff authority could move the picture in either direction.

Q: Should we enroll in the SAEF4 group-sponsor apprenticeship program?
A: Only after auditing the proposed curriculum against your actual open roles. The group sponsor handles compliance and curriculum design, so any high-voltage or electrification credential the framework does not cover remains your responsibility to fill.

Q: Will data center load raise our industrial electricity rate?
A: It depends on your service territory and it is not yet settled. Indiana Michigan Power is proposing decreases where data center revenue offsets cost, while House Bill 1007's requirement that data centers cover 80 percent of increased generation costs has no published enforcement process, pull your utility's current docket filing to see which direction your territory is heading.

Q: What should we do about the Rockport gas plant filing?
A: If you take service on I&M's industrial rate, pull the upcoming rate reduction filing and confirm where Rockport capital costs sit relative to your current contract. The IURC decision is expected in early 2027, and a delay past that date pushes the project into a tighter turbine supply queue.

For the line items that carry generation and fuel cost changes onto your bill, read our explainer on fuel adjustment charges for Indiana C&I operators. For the broader tracker picture ahead of I&M's rate case, see our report on the IURC investigation into Indiana utility tracker charges.