GM to build new engine plant in Flint, Mich.
FLINT, Mich., Aug 19 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp.
confirmed on Wednesday that it will build a new plant
here to produce a new six-cylinder engine.
The 717,700-square-foot facility will employ about 700
people. Construction is scheduled to begin later this month, said
GM Powertrain, part of the North American Operations of GM.
"Our decision to locate the new engine facility here is the
result of the cooperative working relationship between
management, union leadership and employees at the Flint V-8
Engine Plant and the continuing progress they have made in
quality and productivity," said Homi Patel, vice president and
general manager of manufacturing for GM Powertrain.
GM previously said it would build a state-of-the-art engine
plant in the area following its decision to close the existing
V-8 plant at the end of the 1999 model year. In April, the Flint
City Council approved a 12-year, $58 million tax break for the
automaker, part of a $106 million state, county and local
incentive package for the estimated $500 million plant.
Workers from the V-8 plant, which employs about 1,900
hourly employees, will be given the opportunity to transfer to
the V-6 facility, move to the Romulus, Mich., area where GM is
consolidating V-8 production, or take other jobs in the Flint
area. No workers will be laid off, GM said.
Members of United Auto Workers union Local 659 who work at
the V-8 plant earlier ratified an agreement that provides for
what the company calls more competitive work practices. GM
officials would not say what vehicle the new V-6 engine would
power. |
