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A hybrid-car maker plans to reopen the shuttered General Motors plant in Wilmington, Del., that employed several hundred Marylanders, igniting hope of new job opportunities for the laid-off workers.
The fledgling Fisker Automotive of California announced Tuesday that it is buying the assembly plant, which made Pontiac and Saturn roadsters before it closed this summer under GM's bankruptcy. Fisker, which recently won approval for almost $530 million in government loans to develop plug-in hybrid electric cars, plans to begin production at the plant in late 2012 and to employ 2,000 there by 2014.
Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said it's "too early to say" whether the jobs would go to former GM workers from Delaware and Maryland, who were represented by the United Auto Workers. As recently as a year and a half ago, GM employed 1,400 at the plant, including about 200 who transferred there in 2006 after a Baltimore factory on Broening Highway shut down. The Wilmington plant had about 450 hourly workers when production ended.
"We want the best-skilled workers we can get to build a quality car for the world," Datz said. "We certainly intend to work with the UAW, but we're not that far along yet deciding which jobs will come back."
Fisker plans to put $175 million into retooling the plant before reopening it. The company expects annual production of 75,000 to 100,000 "family-oriented cars" priced at $39,900 after accounting for federal tax incentives.
The Delaware plant is the first it will own. Fisker, founded in 2007, said it will start production on its first car - the sporty Karma - in Finland later this year.
"One of our goals is to help restore America as a leader in auto manufacturing," Datz said.
Fisker liked the Delaware plant because the facilities are "modern," haven't been closed for long and are near a port, he said. The company expects to export half the cars it makes, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.
"Obviously those are good-paying jobs," said Karen Glenn Hood, a spokeswoman at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. "Hopefully this will put a lot of people back to work, both in Delaware and in Maryland."
Maryland's U.S. Senators, Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both called the announcement a boon for laid-off GM employees in the state.
But some former Baltimore-based GM workers were skeptical about returning to Delaware under Fisker.
"This is not affiliated with General Motors," said Wanda Hopkins of Pasadena, who worked for GM for almost 30 years and has been out of work since December. "It's a totally different company. That doesn't guarantee or give us anything.
"What they could say is they want all new people off the street. Given that I live in Maryland and not in Delaware, that means nothing for me."
She was temporarily laid off from the Wilmington plant, but then GM filed for bankruptcy protection in June and the factory shut down July 31.
Gail Hardinger, too, wasn't sure what the reopening of the former GM plant would mean for her and others, especially since the transition from Baltimore to Delaware had been a hard one.
The commute was an hour and 15 minutes each way and workers lost seniority they had gained from working at the Baltimore plant, Hardinger said.
"It would depend on the wage, conditions and everything else," said Hardinger, 62, of Parkville, who worked for GM for nearly 35 years. "It's not easy to travel 80 miles one way. I'm no youngster."
Hardinger also wondered how many workers Fisker would need at the Delaware plant for production, considering that the plug-in hybrids are not a "blue-collar everyday person's car."
David Myers, president of UAW Local 435, which represented workers at the Wilmington plant, did not return a phone call Tuesday.
Bruce Belzowski, assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, said the UAW will probably make it a priority to get the former plant workers jobs with Fisker - "if they can."
"If the contract does not allow them to do that, then that will be a different story," he said.
Belzowski said several car manufacturers are working on plug-in hybrid electric cars, but how consumers will react remains the great unknown. It's not just about finding a place to plug in. The planned models aren't cheap - GM's Chevy Volt is supposed to sell for about $40,000.
"That's not the average price people pay for a car," he said. "There's really a limited number of people willing to pay $40,000 for a vehicle."
But for Wilmington - and possibly workers as far afield as Baltimore - the plans to produce Fisker's hybrids are "a Godsend," Belzowski said.
"It's a really nice story for the U.S., considering the way that things have been going," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
The fledgling Fisker Automotive of California announced Tuesday that it is buying the assembly plant, which made Pontiac and Saturn roadsters before it closed this summer under GM's bankruptcy. Fisker, which recently won approval for almost $530 million in government loans to develop plug-in hybrid electric cars, plans to begin production at the plant in late 2012 and to employ 2,000 there by 2014.
Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said it's "too early to say" whether the jobs would go to former GM workers from Delaware and Maryland, who were represented by the United Auto Workers. As recently as a year and a half ago, GM employed 1,400 at the plant, including about 200 who transferred there in 2006 after a Baltimore factory on Broening Highway shut down. The Wilmington plant had about 450 hourly workers when production ended.
"We want the best-skilled workers we can get to build a quality car for the world," Datz said. "We certainly intend to work with the UAW, but we're not that far along yet deciding which jobs will come back."
Fisker plans to put $175 million into retooling the plant before reopening it. The company expects annual production of 75,000 to 100,000 "family-oriented cars" priced at $39,900 after accounting for federal tax incentives.
The Delaware plant is the first it will own. Fisker, founded in 2007, said it will start production on its first car - the sporty Karma - in Finland later this year.
"One of our goals is to help restore America as a leader in auto manufacturing," Datz said.
Fisker liked the Delaware plant because the facilities are "modern," haven't been closed for long and are near a port, he said. The company expects to export half the cars it makes, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.
"Obviously those are good-paying jobs," said Karen Glenn Hood, a spokeswoman at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. "Hopefully this will put a lot of people back to work, both in Delaware and in Maryland."
Maryland's U.S. Senators, Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both called the announcement a boon for laid-off GM employees in the state.
But some former Baltimore-based GM workers were skeptical about returning to Delaware under Fisker.
"This is not affiliated with General Motors," said Wanda Hopkins of Pasadena, who worked for GM for almost 30 years and has been out of work since December. "It's a totally different company. That doesn't guarantee or give us anything.
"What they could say is they want all new people off the street. Given that I live in Maryland and not in Delaware, that means nothing for me."
She was temporarily laid off from the Wilmington plant, but then GM filed for bankruptcy protection in June and the factory shut down July 31.
Gail Hardinger, too, wasn't sure what the reopening of the former GM plant would mean for her and others, especially since the transition from Baltimore to Delaware had been a hard one.
The commute was an hour and 15 minutes each way and workers lost seniority they had gained from working at the Baltimore plant, Hardinger said.
"It would depend on the wage, conditions and everything else," said Hardinger, 62, of Parkville, who worked for GM for nearly 35 years. "It's not easy to travel 80 miles one way. I'm no youngster."
Hardinger also wondered how many workers Fisker would need at the Delaware plant for production, considering that the plug-in hybrids are not a "blue-collar everyday person's car."
David Myers, president of UAW Local 435, which represented workers at the Wilmington plant, did not return a phone call Tuesday.
Bruce Belzowski, assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, said the UAW will probably make it a priority to get the former plant workers jobs with Fisker - "if they can."
"If the contract does not allow them to do that, then that will be a different story," he said.
Belzowski said several car manufacturers are working on plug-in hybrid electric cars, but how consumers will react remains the great unknown. It's not just about finding a place to plug in. The planned models aren't cheap - GM's Chevy Volt is supposed to sell for about $40,000.
"That's not the average price people pay for a car," he said. "There's really a limited number of people willing to pay $40,000 for a vehicle."
But for Wilmington - and possibly workers as far afield as Baltimore - the plans to produce Fisker's hybrids are "a Godsend," Belzowski said.
"It's a really nice story for the U.S., considering the way that things have been going," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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Joe, Joe, Joe......there ya go again, putting more stuff in your own backyward...Obama could have picked an honest man as a VP, but NO...we got you instead. What a piece of work you are !!!
HitmanOC (10/29/2009, 12:50 AM )