$1.2B in incentives for GM project in Texas to get OK
In exchange, General Motors would expand plant and add jobs in Arlington, where fullsize SUVs are made.
Local officials in Arlington, Texas, are expected to approve financial incentives for a $1.2-billion investment by General Motors to expand the plant where workers produce GM's fullsize SUVs, among the company's most profitable vehicles.
The Arlington City Council is planning to vote on a package of incentives tonight.
"What is proposed is a $1.2-billion expansion with 500 to 600 workers in exchange for a reinvestment zone," Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck told the Dallas Business Journal. "We've had a beautiful relationship with General Motors and they have come back regularly wanting to reinvest. I don't see any trouble with this going through on second reading."
The incentives would reduce GM's real estate and business taxes by 80% for 10 years on the new improvements to the factory. The city also is offering to waive GM's fees for development and building permits.
Plans for the expansion of the 60-year-old facility include adding 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing space and 589 new jobs. The expansion includes $300 million in new building improvements and nearly $1 billion in equipment.
Since gasoline prices fell beginning in the second half of 2014, sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade have taken off. Through the first three months of 2015, their sales have jumped 51% from a year earlier.
The 4.4 million-square-foot plant is operating with three crews, sometimes six or seven days a week to keep up with demand.
GM, in a statement, acknowledged it is "developing a business case for potential future investment at Arlington. An investment would fund facility upgrades aimed at enhancing GM's ability to produce high quality vehicles for our customers."
A GM spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the expansion, saying there was "nothing to announce at this time."
In a prepared statement, the company said: "General Motors is developing a business case for potential future investment at Arlington Assembly. An investment would fund facility upgrades aimed at enhancing GM's ability to produce high quality vehicles for our customers."