TOLEDO -- GM already plans to spend $500 million a new kind of transmission here, giving workers in Toledo even more job security.
At a news conference at the Powertrain plant on Alexis Road, GM announced the plant will be used to make six-speed automatic transmissions for front-wheel-drive vehicles. The plan won't add any new jobs, but gives new job security to the people who already work there. The company will spend about $300 million on new tools and equipment.
"Six-speed transmissions play a key role in GM's commitment to change the way the world drives," said John Buttermore, GM Powertrain vice president of global manufacturing, in a prepared statement. "GM's investments in Ohio, totaling close to $1 billion in the last year, is a significant vote of confidence in our employees and UAW Local 14."
"GM is making an enormous commitment to the State of Ohio and I commend them for their investment in our state," said Ohio Governor Ted Strickland in a prepared statement. "This is good news for Ohio workers and a testament to the great value of our highly skilled workforce and competitive business climate."
"If America can regain her competitive edge in automotive manufacturing, it's going to happen right here in Toledo, Ohio -- right here in this plant. Right here with the workers in our community. Absolutely. I know it, I know it. We're living it, we're living it through you," said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D) 9th District.
GM Powertrain in Toledo is currently home of the 4L60E 4 speed, rear-wheel-drive, electronically-controlled overdrive transmission, mostly used in pickup trucks and GM's larger SUV's. Workers at the plant currently make about 6,400 transmissions a day.
GM expects to begin equipping more new models with the new transmissions because they provide better performance and fuel economy.
Work at Powertrain has been declining in recent years, but the staff is one of the most productive in the country. "I would have been okay with the other transmission as far as getting my 30 years in. It's gonna help as far as knowing if I want to put in longer than 30 years. I'll have that opportunity with this transmission," said Robert Cox, a Powertrain worker, who spoke to News 11 last year. He has worked for the plant for 26 years.
General Motors says it sold 9,170,000 vehicles worldwide in 2005. That's GM's second-best sales year on record, and the best since 1978. GM says sales rose 20% in its Asia-Pacific region and 19% in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, but US sales were down 4% in 2005. More than half of GM's sales are now outside the United States.
According to the company, GM Powertrain's Toledo Transmission facility opened in 1916, and moved to its present location in 1955. The 2.1 million-square-foot plan employs 2,033 hourly and 265 salaried employees with an annual payroll of $276 million.
On the Web:
General Motors: www.gm.com
United Auto Workers Local 14: http://www.uawlocal14.org/Powertrain/powertrainhome.htm
