Ohio MEP funding abruptly suspended. 100+ jobs, 14,000 manufacturers at risk.

CLEVELAND, December 11, 2025: MAGNET and manufacturing leaders across Ohio are calling for the immediate restoration of critical manufacturing funding after federal and state agencies abruptly suspended Ohio’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) funding while an Office of Inspector General (OIG) review of the Ohio MEP program continues.

Federal and state MEP dollars for all six Ohio MEP centers were suspended before the centers received the OIG report or had any opportunity to understand or respond to any issues. The move pulls $5.9 million in funding for MAGNET and puts roughly 40 jobs at risk there, plus an estimated 50 more across Ohio’s five other MEP centers, along with dozens of local contractors who help with program delivery. MEP funding supports innovation, reshoring, and technology modernization at nearly 14,000 manufacturers statewide.

“This is not how oversight is supposed to work,” said Dr. Ethan Karp, President & CEO of MAGNET. “For two years, we have cooperated fully with federal auditors examining the entire Ohio MEP system. The focus of this review seemed to be on administrative disagreements between the federal and state MEP programs. Then, without warning, funding was suddenly pulled before there was a report, or any discussion. That’s not fairness or due process. It’s an unprecedented decision that punishes Ohio’s manufacturers first and asks questions later.”

Karp says MAGNET is exploring legal and policy options while continuing to cooperate fully with the review and fighting to keep programs running.

 Four Decades of Partnership and Impact at Risk

For 40 years, MAGNET and Ohio’s MEP centers have been embedded partners to manufacturers, working alongside the Ohio Department of Development and regional leaders to modernize plants, strengthen supply chains, and build talent pipelines. In that time, MAGNET alone has helped more than 10,000 manufacturers, generating over $10 billion in regional economic impact and supporting thousands of high-paying jobs.

In Northeast Ohio, manufacturing drives roughly half of the regional economy. Statewide, Ohio is the third-largest manufacturing state in the nation and a national leader in aerospace and defense–related manufacturing.

“When you wipe out the infrastructure that helps small and midsize manufacturers compete, you don’t just hurt one nonprofit,” Karp added. “You weaken Ohio’s competitiveness, our national industrial base, and all the communities across Ohio that depend on manufacturing jobs.”

 “Bigger Than MAGNET. It’s About the Future of Manufacturing”

“This is bigger than MAGNET,” said Jack Schron, President & CEO of Jergens, Inc. and a longtime MAGNET board member. “It’s about the future of manufacturing. Our small and midsize manufacturers rely on MEP support to improve productivity, adopt new technologies, and keep good jobs here. Undermining that support now is a direct hit to our competitiveness, our economy, and even our national security because of Ohio’s position in the national defense supply chain.”

“At a time when, as a nation, we are pulling together to revitalize manufacturing as the engine of our economy and our global competitiveness, this decision makes no sense,” added Michael Canty, President & CEO of Alloy Precision Technologies Inc. and a MAGNET board member. “We are using tariffs and industrial strategy to bring manufacturing home. This is not the time to cut the very programs designed to help manufacturers modernize, reshore work, and grow.”

 What MAGNET and Ohio Manufacturers Are Asking For

MAGNET and its partners are urging federal and state leaders to:

• Restore or bridge MEP funding for Ohio while the OIG review is completed.
• Ensure a fair, transparent process: release the report, allow the centers to review and respond, and then make long-term funding decisions.
• Recognize that disrupting Ohio’s MEP infrastructure will have ripple effects for nearly 14,000 manufacturers, thousands of workers, and the broader economy in one of America’s most important manufacturing states.

“We’re asking for something simple,” Karp concluded. “Let’s protect Ohio’s manufacturers and jobs while the review runs its course, and let’s make decisions based on facts, not on a process that shuts off support before anyone has even seen the findings.”

 Caught in a Larger Federal Fight Over the MEP

The Ohio suspension comes against the backdrop of repeated efforts in Washington to reduce or eliminate funding for the national MEP program, despite its long-documented return on investment. Independent evaluations show the MEP delivers roughly $26 in new and retained sales and about $17 in combined sales growth and cost savings for manufacturers for every $1 of public investment.

Earlier this year, MAGNET and Ohio manufacturers helped lead a national campaign urging Congress and the Administration to restore federal MEP funding. Just last week, federal funding was renewed for five more states and a federal funding opportunity was opened for eight others.

“Days after celebrating renewed support for MEP nationally, Ohio was told its funding was suspended—with no report, no findings, and no conversation,” Karp said. “That should worry anyone who cares about the future of manufacturing in this state.”

Strong Audit Record, No Chance to Respond

Despite the suspension, MAGNET enters this moment with one of the strongest oversight records in the sector. Over the past decade, MAGNET has undergone multiple independent financial reviews and 13 state and federal audits, with only three immaterial issues ever identified—all corrected immediately.

For more information, contact ekarp@manufacturingsuccess.org or (216) 316-7643.