General Motors says it will spend $760 million to renovate its transmission factory in Toledo, Ohio, so it can build drive lines for electric vehicles.
It's the first GM engine or transmission plant to begin the long transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. The company has a goal of making only electric passenger vehicles by 2035.
The move will keep the jobs of about 1,500 hourly and salaried workers at the Toledo plant, which now makes four transmissions used in pickup trucks and many other GM internal combustion vehicles. No new hiring is expected.
“This investment helps build job security for our Toledo team for years to come, and is the next step on our journey to an all-electric future,” Gerald Johnson, executive vice president of global manufacturing for GM, said on Friday.
Electric drive lines take power from the batteries and convert it to motion at the wheels.
The 260,128-square-metre Toledo plant, built in 1956, will make drive lines for future electric trucks including the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, along with GMC Hummer EVs.
The announcement on Friday at the plant is good news for the workers in Toledo, who have worried about the future of their plant. GM employs about 10,000 workers at engine and transmission factories across the US, and their futures are uncertain as the switch to electric vehicles picks up momentum.
“Of course there's always worry,” said Jeff King, shop chairman for the United Auto Workers union local at the plant. “I think it reflects on the workforce that we have here, the quality of product that we build.”
Most workers gathered for the announcement Friday were happy to hear details that their plant would live on.
“This is great news for our individual plant because we’re going to get a new product,” said worker Kim Hunter Jones of Adrian, Michigan. But she said she’s concerned about workers at other GM engine and transmission plants that don’t yet have assurances that they’ll build electric-vehicle components.
Mr Johnson, though, said the company wants to bring all of its employees along during the transition. “Our goal is to make sure everybody who is with General Motors today has an opportunity to move into the all-EV future,” he said.
Another worker, Patrice Harris of Toledo, said the announcement means she won't have to move from her home town. Other GM workers have been forced to move when their plants closed or didn't get new products to make.
“It's a big deal for me because that means I still have work," she said. “I'm born and raised. I don't want to relocate.”
Mr Johnson said he suspects the $760m investment will qualify for some tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, but said that hasn't been worked out yet.
GM says the factory will continue to make transmissions for internal combustion vehicles, as it gradually switches to electric drive lines. Work on the renovation will start this month, with EV component production beginning early in 2024, Mr Johnson said.
GM chief executive Mary Barra has pledged to unseat Tesla as the top seller of EVs by the middle of this decade.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
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- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
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MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Result:
1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds
2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds
4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds
6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
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UAE%20ILT20
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