By bringing this capability to the US, GM will create approximately 200 jobs. The company said that local and state incentives, along with the Recovery Act funding announced in August 2009 by the US Department of Energy, are helping to make this facility expansion and job creation possible.
Tom Stephens, vice chairman of global product operations at GM, said: ”Electric motors are the engines of the future. By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house at Baltimore Transmission, we can more efficiently control the design, materials and production processes. It will also enable us to lower costs and improve performance, quality, reliability, and manufacturability of the electric motors we use in our vehicles.”
He added, ”Electric motors are driving the next wave of automotive growth. The expansion of the Baltimore plant will generate a significant influx of money and jobs into the greater Baltimore area, creating US-based manufacturing jobs.”
The company claimed that through job retention and creation, Baltimore Transmission, which opened in 2000, will employ close to 400 people.
Nationally, the investment is estimated to retain or create about 1700 jobs, including immediate project jobs, manufacturing jobs and the impact on suppliers and local communities, the company said.
Mr Stephens said, ”Ultimately this expansion, its direct economic impact, its contribution to GM’s capabilities, and its impact on the vehicles we drive will be a model of what a lean, energetic, creative General Motors is capable of doing and contributing.”
