General Electric confirmed Friday that it will open a new high-tech facility in Van Buren Township, adding nearly 1,200 high-paying jobs to Michigan's struggling economy.
Flanked by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, GE CEO Jeff Immelt said the facility will open in the Visteon Village site, which is also shared by auto parts maker Visteon Corp. The center will use some existing office space and will add a new $100 million research facility.
"We believe that in the precise machining world, we can tap into some of the great labor resources that already exist in the state," Immelt said. He added that hiring will start later this year and that GE will post a Web site as early as next week to begin accepting applications. Most of the jobs will be new, Michigan-based positions, Immelt said, while Granholm added that the jobs will pay around $100,000 a year.
GE's site will land in the middle of the Aerotropolis, the zone between Willow Run and Detroit Metro Airport that local governments are trying to bill as prime real estate for manufacturing, e-commerce and logistics firms. By landing GE for the site that bills itself on both location and government cooperation, a message has been sent to suppliers and other large corporations alike, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said Friday.
"It's sort of what Hewlett Packard did for Silicon Valley," Ficano said "That can be an anchor stone to new development."
Ficano said the county and the eight other governments involved the Aerotropolis initiative are in constant talks in luring Fortune 500 companies to the area. He said GE could help establish suppliers as well.
"The technology aspect of this facility could lead to manufacturing," Ficano said.
Van Buren Township Supervisor Paul White said he was looking forward to welcoming GE, weeks after Aerotropolis members tried selling the site to the company. He said he expects company officials on-site within weeks, expecting "fast-paced development."
"It should help kick start Aerotropolis to a degree," White said. "It's creating jobs in an industry that is really not well established in Michigan."
The public-private partnership includes state tax incentives totaling $74 million during 12 years, Granholm said, and is expected to produce $146 million in additional state tax revenue in that time.
Both Immelt and the governor praised Sen. Stabenow for her role as a "matchmaker" in bringing the parties together.
"I am thrilled that after saying to so many business that come though my office in Washington that you should be in Michigan, that Jeff was smart enough to take me up on it," Stabenow said. "It was a perfect, perfect match."
Reacting to the news, Congressman John Dingell, D-Dearborn, said in a statement, "GE's high-tech, advanced manufacturing jobs are the kind of opportunities we envisioned during the writing of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which the House will take up today."
"The burgeoning green economy holds incredible promise for both a better environment and a better economy, and we in Michigan are poised to capitalize on this opportunity," Dingell said. "We have the skilled workforce. We have wonderful institutes of higher education that produce quality people like those General Electric and other companies need. We have the factories and complexes ready and built just waiting for companies to fill them. We are ready to lead the transformation of what some people call the 'rust belt' into a 'green zone.'"
Detroit News staff writer Tanveer Ali contributed.
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