Texas lands mega shipyard deal as California Forever loses anchor tenant

Saronic Technologies chose Brownsville, Texas for its Port Alpha autonomous shipyard, ending California Forever’s plan in Solano County and depriving the state of a $3.2 billion project expected to create about 10,000 permanent jobs plus 10,000 construction roles. Texas acted quickly with incentives while California’s permitting process drew sharp criticism from local leaders, labor groups, and housing advocates. Gov. Newsom’s administration tried to mobilize regulators to salvage the deal, but the loss is seen as a wake‑up call about California’s regulatory pace and competitiveness for major manufacturing investments.