Shortie is from MD....these new jobs are in his backyard. Funny how he didn't post this announcement......NOT. <g>
GM to build electric motors in Maryland
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Betting that hybrid and electric vehicles will play a growing role on American highways, General Motors is expected to announce Tuesday a $246 million investment to add production of electric motors at its White Marsh, Md., manufacturing plant.
The decision reflects confidence at GM and other automakers that the "electrification" of the U.S. fleet is not far away, with GM officials likening the importance of electric-motor technology to that of engines in gasoline cars.
The electric-motor project is expected to create about 200 jobs and will be funded in part by a $105 million grant from the Department of Energy, the automaker said. While GM did not disclose the project's location, sources familiar with the arrangements who spoke on condition of anonymity said it would be at the company's White Marsh facility. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and local officials have scheduled a news conference there Tuesday.
The announcement comes as the Washington Auto Show opens this week, and automakers are eager to show that the billions of dollars in U.S. investments -- both in rescuing the companies and in energy-efficiency initiatives -- are creating jobs.
Ford, the only major U.S. automaker that did not receive a direct government bailout, is set to announce Tuesday that it will build its next generation Explorer sport-utility vehicle at its Chicago manufacturing facilities, making an investment of $400 million to create as many as 1,200 jobs.
The new Ford jobs reverse a long-term trend at the company which, like GM and Chrysler, has drastically shrunk its U.S. manufacturing operations. The company, which employed 100,000 hourly workers in 2000, had just about 40,500 last year.
The new Explorer will be at least 25 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor, and some of the company investment will be funded by a Department of Energy loan.
While the U.S. auto industry seemed on the brink of collapse last year, it has shown some signs of modest growth in recent months.
On Monday, GM announced that it will repay a $6.7 billion loan it received last year from the federal government by the end of June, and that company Chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr. will become its permanent chief executive.
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