Things appear to be looking up for Louisiana, what with all the announcements of new jobs coming to the state. There’re the giant data centers in at least three parishes—two in north Louisiana one in south Louisiana—the humongous Space X facility in Vermilion Parish and the $5.8 billion steel mill in Ascension Parish.
But a word of caution: perhaps we shouldn’t get too excited just yet, at least not until workers are getting their time cards punched as they check into the work at these facilities.
Because they haven’t happened yet.
After all, a pretty strong rumor has it Walt Disney wanted the New Orleans area for his second theme park and even began buying up land in St. Tammany. But when state and New Orleans politicos began leaning on Disney for “their share” of the pie, he found that the city of Orlando was willing to sell him the land with no strings (read: kickbacks) attached, he moved eastward and a great opportunity for Louisiana was lost because of nothing more than uncontrolled greed.
The Guardian earlier this month noted “Promises are not the same as jobs” in a story about a $15 billion steel plant proposed for Lee County, Iowa.
Should the steel mill project of Mesabi Metallics not materialize in Ascension, it would not be the first time an announcement of a major manufacturing plant failed to develop during the administration of Donald Trump. Foxconn, which a joint announcement by the company and Trump touted as a $10 billion investment for Wisconsin turned into a nightmare of false hopes for the Badger State.
Oh, they held a ceremonial groundbreaking in 2018 for what Trump said was the “eighth wonder of the world” which he said would provide 13,000 new permanent jobs. But after investing only $300 million of that supposed $10 billion and hiring only about 2,000 workers, a disillusioned Wisconsin state denied Foxconn’s generous tax subsidies for failing to follow through on its investment plans.
Trump also made empty claims about the coming of new auto plants to Michigan—claims that were never fulfilled. In fact, the number of manufacturing jobs in Michigan for autos and parts actually decreased.
Trump’s False Auto Industry Claims – FactCheck.org
Even as Trump bragged about the jobs he was bringing back to the U.S., thanks to his tariffs, American manufacturing was, in fact, bleeding jobs, according to Politico.
Trump hails ‘manufacturing miracle’ as factories bleed jobs – POLITICO
And with a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum, the fate of that Hyundai steel mill in Ascension may yet hang in the balance. Oh, sure, the state has granted an air permit for the mill but to remind you of The Guardian’s warning, a permit isn’t jobs. Nor has anyone yet to draw a paycheck from a data center or from Space X.
Remember a company called Eurochem? Probably not.
Way back in 2013, when a guy named Bobby Jindal was still governor, he and a fellow named Dmitry Strezhnev jointly announced that Eurochem was going to build a $1.5 billion giant fertilizer plant on one of two sites—one in Iberville Parish, across and downriver from Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River or further south, in St. John the Baptist Parish.
The Russian firm did spend $12 million to purchase 2,150 ACRES OF LAND within the town of St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish, though at the time of the sale, the identity of the purchaser was not revealed to legislators who approved SB 216 (Act 127) by Sens. Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe), Rick Gallot (D-Ruston), Neil Riser (R-Columbia), and Francis Thompson (D-Delhi).
Walsworth has since retired from the legislature. Gallot now serves as president of the University of Louisiana System. Riser, after being term-limited in the Senate, is now a representative in the House. Thompson, likewise term-limited in the Senate, also now serves in the House, but as a Republican after having switched parties.
Interestingly, the 2,150 acres bought by the Russian oligarch Strezhnev-led company just happened to be property surrounding a Louisiana National Guard facility but hey, they’re jobs, right?
Not so, it turned out. But first things first.
Eurochem somehow decided the Iberville site, even after paying $12 million for it, was unsuitable for its purposes, so in 2015, it opted for the 915-acred site in ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH.
But alas, a mere 7 years later, in March 2022, Eurochem, which produces approximately 5 percent of the world’s fertilizer, WITHDREW AN APPLICATION for a New Source Review (NSR) permit from the EPA for the plant, effectively killing the project that had been touted as planning to employ 200 persons.
Jindal, of course, has moved on to other projects—like PAYING CRASHERS $200 to disrupt rallies by Michigan senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Strezhnev, meanwhile, with the aid of one Viktor Radin, busied himself funneling some $785 MILLION TO SWITZERLAND in order to avoid taxes when Eurochem purchased a 10 percent stake in the company from Strezhnev in 2019.
Eurochem was founded by another Russian oligarch, Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, who hosted Trump fundraiser Bill White on his superyacht in 2019.
Top Trump Fundraiser Vacationed with Russian Oligarch on Superyacht – Forensic News
Melnichenko, described by Forbes as Russia’s richest person, managed to avoid financial disaster in 2022 by transferring ownership of Eurochem and one of the world’s largest coal companies to his wife the day before he was sanctioned by the European Union.
EXCLUSIVE: EXCLUSIVE How a Russian billionaire shielded assets from European sanctions | Reuters
Will there ultimately be a steel mill in Ascension? A Space X in Vermilion? Data centers in West Feliciana, Caddo and Bossier, Rapides, Richland, or Livingston?
Only time will tell if these are truly economic windfalls for the state of Louisiana or just another pipedream like when Eurochem was going to build in St. John the Baptist Parish, DISNEYWORLD was rumored to be considering St. Tammany Parish or when BELL HELICOPTER was slated for Lafayette Parish, HAWKER BEECHCRAFT for East Baton Rouge Parish or ELIO MOTORS for Caddo Parish—but didn’t?
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