Private equity’s growing footprint in Michigan tied to layoffs, rising housing costs, and healthcare risks

Private equity firms now employ roughly 10% of Michigan’s private sector workforce and own everything from hospitals to housing across the state, according to a new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP). The report, Wall Street in the Wolverine State, details how private equity ownership is reshaping jobs, healthcare, housing, and communities across Michigan. The report comes as private equity continues to expand into essential industries nationwide, raising growing concerns among policymakers and regulators.

Key findings include:

• Private equity-owned companies employ about 10% of Michigan’s private sector workforce
• Private equity firms own nine hospitals (5.1% of private hospitals) in the state
• Investment firms own nearly 200 manufactured home parks with about 52,000 home sites
• Private equity-backed companies have been tied to layoffs, bankruptcies, and labor disputes across Michigan
• Private equity billionaires have built massive fortunes while investments in Michigan have been tied to rising costs, layoffs, and service concerns.

As of 2024, Michigan was among the 10 states with the largest increase in the share of its private sector workforce employed by private equity-controlled companies, reflecting the growing role these firms play in shaping jobs and industries across the state. At the same time, Michigan is also among the top 10 states for the share of state pension assets invested in private equity, meaning that the retirement savings of public workers are increasingly tied to the performance of private equity funds.

Across Michigan, private equity firms are active in industries ranging from healthcare and manufacturing to housing and education services. Their investments can bring capital and operational changes, but they can also introduce risks related to high debt levels, cost-cutting strategies, and short investment timelines. Companies owned by private equity firms have been associated with patterns of labor disputes, layoffs, service reductions, and bankruptcy. Private equity landlords have been associated with large rent increases, new fees, and aggressive eviction practices. 

In healthcare, private equity firms own nine hospitals in Michigan, including facilities operated by Apollo Global Management’s LifePoint Health. Some LifePoint hospitals have faced scrutiny over debt levels, staffing, and quality rankings, while workers at UP Health System–Marquette recently raised concerns about staffing shortages.

Notably, Michigan is a national leader in private equity ownership of manufactured housing, with more than one in four manufactured home sites owned by private equity. Michigan has the second most private equity-owned manufactured home parks of any state in the U.S., behind only Florida. In 2025, North Morris Estates, a mid-Michigan manufactured housing park owned by Alden Global Capital’s Homes of America was criminally convicted of operating without a license. The park had lost its license after refusing to fix the park’s water problem and residents had complained of brown, odorous water. 

“Private equity has infiltrated nearly every part of the American economy and Michigan is no exception,” said Sam Garin, a spokesperson for PESP and Michigan resident. “From the District Detroit development and controversial datacenter projects, to hospitals in the U.P. and the Mackinac Island ferry, private equity firms – and their risks – have embedded themselves into the lives and landscapes of Michiganders. Even our beloved Sanders Bumpy Cake is owned by an international private equity firm. Our policymakers must take action to mitigate the risks this industry poses to patients, tenants, workers, and Michiganders at large.”

“There are a number of key policy interventions Michigan regulators can pursue to rein in the worst abuses of the private equity industry, including common-sense safeguards against extreme rent hikes, protections for tenants and workers, and workforce management standards for state investments,” said Chris Noble, policy director for PESP. “On the national level, we must ensure that private equity firms and the billionaires running them are paying their fair share of taxes.”