Metro Detroit Gains Auto Jobs
May 25, 2010 by Colin Bird
Detroit is showing small, but critical gains in its economy as the automotive sector further solidifies in the region.
GM, Ford and Chrysler have all announced plant facility updates in the metropolitan area that will bring new jobs, as well as much needed job security for existing employees already working at area plants.
Ford recently announced a $135 million investment in area Detroit facilities. Ford plans on hiring 130 new workers at its Sterling Heights plant to build hybrid transaxles that are currently built in Japan. It will also add 40 jobs at its Ypsilanti plant to make battery packs for its hybrids. On top of that, Ford will also hire 50 electrical vehicle engineers in Dearborn and Livonia to develop new lithium-ion batteries for its next-generation hybrids.
General Motors will also add jobs to the region, as well as “green” jobs for its hybrids and electric vehicles like Ford. GM’s Detroit Hamtramck assembly is undergoing preparations to build the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt. GM recently announced that Hamtramck would see an additional $121 million investment to produce the next generation Chevrolet Malibus – a popular seller for the automaker. GM also announced it was creating 100 new jobs at its Warren Transmission plant to ramp up production of its Hydra-Matic 6-speed automatic transmissions.
Chrysler will bring the biggest boost to the region at its Jefferson North Assembly plant, home to the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Jefferson North underwent a $1.8 billion expansion in order to build the new SUV. Updates include a new body-shop, new conveyance systems and 600 new robots. In order to ramp up production, Chrysler will add a second shift to the assembly that will bring back 1,080 UAW jobs to Detroit — 1,703 people already work at the plant. The new jobs are sort of bittersweet, as the only pay half as much as current UAW workers. That’s because Chrysler’s new union contract allows the automaker to pay its workers only $14 per hour.
This is good news for the Detroit region, which currently has an unemployment rate of 16.4%. The lightened mood also eases fears on workers who have never lost their jobs, but tightened their belts during the recession. Rick McDonald, a Ford electrician, says that many Ford employees are now opening up their wallets, “when the Big Three are hurting, you cut back. Seeing how Ford has turned around, you see most of the Ford employees opening up a little — with caution.”
More consumer spending in the region will also buoy job creation at small businesses, such as restaurants, and at other consumer retail venues. That’s good, because even with high paying manufacturing jobs coming back to Detroit, the majority of jobs are still to be found at government, education, health services and small businesses.
This small jobs gain still has a long way to go in turning around Detroit, which still has 142,000 people unemployed in the Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: Reuters, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Associated Press, Chrysler and GM
