Although General Motors turned down Ohio $56 million incentive package to keep the doors of the automaker’s Moraine, Ohio SUV plant open, GM has accepted an incentive package from the city of Flint, Michigan. The deal will see GM building a new global engine in Flint.
Earlier this year, Flint’s city council passed a measure that will give GM a considerable tax break, although the final figures have yet to be published. GM requested the tax break in order to invest $370 million in a new engine plant — which will create 300 new jobs — slated to produce GM’s new 1.4L powerplant. The new engine will be used in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt and Cruze.
GM will invest $349 million in the engine plant itself, with another $21 million being dedicated for support operations, such as vendors and tooling.
However, GM’s turbulent past with Flint – as seen in the 1989 documentary “Roger & Me” — has some residents uneasy about the tax breaks. “A lot of people still feel…General Motors owes us more than just a couple hundred jobs,” Councilman Jim Ananich told The Detroit News. “I understand what people feel — I still sometimes have those feelings –but as competitive as the market is and the trouble General Motors is having, we have to help them with whatever we can do to keep them competitive.”
The plant will be up and running by 2010, with an initial production capacity of 800 engines per day.
09/25, 2:03 PM
posted by:
A4
good news for the economy ha
09/25, 2:34 PM
posted by:
bigs4610
WOOOOHOOOOOOO
i work in Flint, Next to (GM in the hole) which is downtown flint, near Kettering (GMI) College. This is big news for our city. And the new Swedish BioFuel Company building a plant right smack dab in the middle of the city is going to happen real soon too.
There is a sign of hope!
lol
09/25, 2:39 PM
posted by:
tzu13
Hey, they’re going to create 300 jobs, eh? Well, since Chrysler is eliminating 300 jobs, maybe all those people should just ask for a transfer to GM…
09/25, 3:21 PM
posted by:
golf4me
Well, the allure of the Cruze and Dolt just went down a few notches…cuz the price just went up a few hundred bucks…
GM- way to enable the UAW (again) after they’ve kicked your balls over the last few things you’ve tried to get back to save money and yourselves. Smart move. I hope at least you hire people at the NEW wage schedule, not the existing one…which is why I’m assuming that the car is going to be delayed here 18 months.
09/25, 4:57 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
every one love a comeback….
09/25, 5:41 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Maybe if they’d taken the time over the last, say, 100 years to build a decent small engine they wouldn’t have to be starting from scratch.
09/25, 6:47 PM
posted by:
autonut
I second you Johnny. Except in Europe Opel has plethora of very decent engines. They are on par with all other Nazi motors. The question is: why braniaks in Detroit would not allow proliferation of those engines and cars here until crap hit the fan?
09/25, 7:12 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Even with the anemic 2 stage (noise… and more noise) 4 bangers many GM models have been blessed with they still couldn’t make any money on their small car lines. Had they put decent engines under the hood it would only have served to draw even more attention to the inadequate chassis.
09/25, 7:20 PM
posted by:
autonut
Johnny, the problem is domestic automotive business model: making money only on high item tickets: trucks and their derivatives large SUVs. Look at Volt projections: the car will start at 40 large and it will NOT be profitable. Thanks heavens for my tax money, private company could not survive running business in such fashion.
09/26, 1:23 AM
posted by:
maxcar
doesn’t autonut talk just like xuyna?
on another note, i wonder if michael moore is happy about this?
09/26, 10:39 AM
posted by:
rodeo40
They better…If they build one more plant in another country I hope they go bankrupt.
09/27, 2:39 PM
posted by:
Get Real
I would never consider buying a GM product, not after 30 years of garbage.
BUT….this Volt is really making me think of giving GM one chance to rock my world.
And to rock the Arab world by not buying their oil.