General Motors Corp. has chosen its White Marsh plant for a new effort to build electric motors, and on Tuesday it laid out plans for an expansion that will generate 180 much-needed jobs and provide a boost for the hard-hit manufacturing sector.
The automaker, which would become the first car company to produce its own electric motors, announced that it plans to start making the devices in 2013. The company is investing $246 million, including state funds and federal stimulus money, to construct a new 40,000-square-foot facility next to the site where workers now build transmissions, including some that go into hybrid vehicles.
The announcement was a welcome signal after many manufacturers have moved jobs overseas and most industries have shed jobs or pared back operations to cope with a general slowdown in the global economy. Maryland elected officials lined up next to corporate executives at the White Marsh plant to cheer the news.
"We have not made enough announcements about creating new manufacturing jobs in America," said U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin. "We are making that announcement today."
The plant's work force will nearly double - from about 220 workers to 400 - mostly with manufacturing jobs once the new addition is up and running. The plant will have the capacity to build thousands of rear-wheel-drive components that each contain two electric motors and can be used in trucks and cars. A prototype of the motor was unveiled at the White Marsh plant Tuesday.
GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said the electric motor has the potential to eventually replace the gas-powered engine, and that the company's plan to build its own motors is key to capitalizing on that trend. The company now buys electric motors from suppliers, and officials believe that manufacturing them will help them better understand and improve motor quality.
"Our only level of competitive advantage is our ability to develop faster than the competition and apply it to great new vehicles," Stephens said.
GM has been quietly working on an electric-car strategy for the past decade through research, development and design at facilities in Michigan, Indiana and California. The company said there is now more demand from consumers for reliable, affordable models of the vehicles. The electric motor will be used in a variety of electronic models, including battery-electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles.
