General Motors could be set to sell its Warren Transmission plant in Michigan to an unnamed buyer.
In a statement sent to The Detroit News on Thursday, GM spokesman Dan Flores said a “prospective buyer is under contract to purchase GM’s former Warren Transmission plant,” and that the buyer is currently in the process of “completing their due diligence prior to closing on the property.” The automaker expects the sale to close sometime in the third quarter of this year, Flores also said.
GM stopped producing transmissions at the Warren Transmission plant in the summer of 2019. Prior to its closure, the Warren Transmission plant produced 6T70 and 6T75 six-speed automatic transmissions for a variety of General Motors passenger vehicles, including the Cadillac XTS and Chevy Impala. The automaker later used the empty floor space at the facility to produce facemasks, face shields, medical gowns and other PPE at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Warren Mayor James Fouts told The Detroit News he did not know the name of the contracted buyer of the facility, but said the purchase represents a $230 million investment and that it will “create hundreds of new jobs,” in the Detroit suburb.
Warren Transmission employed 232 hourly workers and another 30 salaried workers for a total of 262, according to GM’s profile page for the now-shuttered facility. Employees were represented by UAW Local 909. The facility was first opened in 1941 and has been under GM’s control since the automaker purchased it in 1958.
“We appreciate their commitment and hard work to build the highest quality possible into each and every transmission produced at Warren Transmission Operations,” General Motors said in a prepared statement following the plant’s closure back in July of 2019.
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Comments
It took a bit of research and I hope I am wrong but it looks like these transmissions are now produced in Mexico. Nothing wrong with that per se, but those seeking American assembly may be better served by purchasing a Honda or Toyota. Thanks Mary!
6 speed transmissions for fwd vehicles. What vehicles sold in the US are actually still using a 6 spd? Most fwd based vehicles are getting the 9 speed which is made in America.
So it appears you’re complaining about transmissions made in Mexico which are used in other foreign markets.
Blame the union for their labor demands if you have a problem with GM trying to make money.
Thanks, GMC fan, its good to know that GM still makes some of their transmissions here. I wonder where the transmissions come from for their Mexico-assembled half ton trucks?
Demanding better wages and continued health care so blame the union?
No blame other industries and there unions for not fighting for better things for the employees. I don’t get why people have a problem with people trying to negotiate for better wages and benefits if it wasn’t for the employees on the floor noon of these companies would exist.
Blame the bloated CEO, yeh start there.
GM trying to make money? As they’ve constantly raised their prices every year and removed options that were standard on cars I work for general motors and their dealerships for over 30 years and don’t tell me about them trying to make money, multiply all the mistakes they’ve made over the years and the bad investments they don’t deserve to make money, I’m a former GM fan.
We’re still promoting the BS narrative that buying Toyota and Honda products is actually in America’s best interest? How misinformed.
Please explain how buying a GM truck assembled in Mexico is more in America’s interest than buying a Honda made in Ohio. Thanks in advance!
Simple the cooperation money comes back here. Add to that much of the Mexican vehicles content are made right here in America. My HHR had most of its content made in America and just assembled in Mexico.
The Honda money goes home to Japan and while they make a number of parts here still many are imported to America on many of these companies.
Much like tire companies. You buy Firestone that money goes to Japan. BFG that goes to France. General Tire Germany. Goodyear and Cooper that goes to Akron Ohio.
Valid point about the HHR and many other Mexico and Canada-assembled GM vehicles (such as my Canada-assembled Impala, which as been great). As for Honda and Toyota, they both have a high percentage of USA made parts in their vehicles (as do many GM vehicles), including engines and transmissions. As for the money going back to the countries of origin, not quite true. Profits go to the shareholders, who are global. You or I could own stock in Honda and receive our dividends here, and some person in Japan could own GM stock and receive those dividends there. It is a global economy so it gets complicated. In terms of helping the economy, though, dividends and capital gains tend to go to the rich folks in whatever country, who are not always good about trickling it down on the rest of us lol. Boost to the economy arguably comes from money going to workers, who spend it locally, and that is more dependent on where the vehicles are assembled, and yes, where the parts are made.
CR.8
I use to regurgitate the same story as you. Keep the money in the USA.
But the more I thought about it, that money is only the profits. Which will actually go to the stockholders and obscenity over paid CEOs like Mary Barra. I could care less about them stuffing their pockets with my money. So I don’t buy foreign made vehicles.
My money now goes to vehicles made in the USA. Better to buy Honda made in Ohio than GM made in China. (That is what is best for America). I would rather have my money end up in the pocket of a guy making kias in an American factory instead of someone in Mexico or China making a few bucks a day. Then have Mary Barry keep the rest of it.
The most American made content is what benefits America. Not where the CEOs desk is.
I am sorry but this can easily be debunked with basic math. Only a very small amount of a vehicle’s purchase price is profit. The overwhelming majority goes toward engineering, materials, and labor among other costs. I’ll leave out marketing since both domestic and foreign automakers spend dollars in America to market to Americans. Suggesting that the profit is the only portion of a vehicle’s price that matters when it comes to economic impact is an opinion based on emotions only, not fact.
Even if we included executive compensation as “money that’s going overseas”, I would still take a domestic factory over one in Mexico as executive compensation is dwarfed by labor and material costs. Despite the badge on the hood, buying a Honda Passport built in Alabama provides far more economic benefit to Americans then buying a Blazer built in Ramos Arizpe.
Thank you for this information. I now know what tires to purchase next time.
The money comes back to the American corporation!! Nothing else to explain google the rest.
Except, most Silverado’s and Sierras are assembled in, you guessed it, Indiana (or Mexico/Michigan depending on the trim).
nikola/lordstown joint venture bought it.
Haha! That is funny…
Wherever the jobs are that are making parts , building vehicles , etc. – that’s what matters b/c those individuals that are the working class are the ones getting the jobs – so if it’s anywhere but the U.S. , that means those jobs are Not here regardless of the domestic or foreign banner that flies over it , those are the ones that are eating and taking care of their family.
The stockholders are paid regardless , they have their financials in order ,.. it’s the working class that either prospers or suffers the loss …. So if you’re currently driving or getting ready to purchase a vehicle from what you feel is a domestic company b/c that gives you this feeling of being patriotic , yet find out that it’s paying a foreign countries citizens to make it , you need to re-evaluate your position – b/c you may find yourself supporting something that you believe is American made , just to find out that same company are “sell outs” , and have created many homeless families out of hard working Americans .
I understand business – and you want to spend the least amount as possible for your product without compromising the integrity of the product – but when a company like GM makes 8 Billion+ dollars profit every year , 5-6 yrs in a row , and give their CEO Mary Barra $20 million dollar bonus – it becomes disgusting .
You really should think about where you invest your money .. especially now when most of our major cities are deteriorating due to lack of jobs .. when there’s been a financial spike in the economy the past few years .
Our communities rely on the working class to have jobs so that they invest their earnings into the local economy , stimulating its own economy …. I don’t see anyone from Mexico or Canada coming to the U.S. every day to spend their paychecks here – so if the jobs are in Mexico and Canada , that’s were the money is being spent … showing us ALL how much of an American company a lot of these people truly are.
Most of us are quite intelligent ,… we just need to start seeing things as they truly are and start making better decision that impact ourselves , the future of our family, and our country as a whole .
Tommy
Well said.
I’ll put my money in the hands of the working man.
It’s nice to think that profits end up at the corporate HQ. Realistically though GM has been plowing those profits into expansion in China and Mexico while letting domestic manufacturing wither. I tend to agree that the assembly site, and the location where major components are made, is the best indication as to whether or not a purchase ends up benefiting America.
American de-industrialization and offshoring of US manufacturing jobs accelerates and reaches previously unimaginable levels of unadulterated boldness since the globalists have returned to the helm of US government.
Are you suggesting that the election of the current administration signals a return of the globalists? If so, you would be pretty deluded to think that the last administration was any different in this regard. The former guy had an opportunity to substantially alter NAFTA, but chose to keep it largely in place except for a name change of course. He did nothing to stem the tide of offshoring and closing American factories except offer empty platitudes.
Good to see more and more people have seen the light. GM especially has been hosing its workers for years, all the while jamming customers with poorly engineered vehicles. Little to no effort has been made to create more jobs here at home; in fact GM has trimmed payroll dramatically since we taxpayers bailed out the company. No matter what, we must keep pushing to save and expand modern manufacturing in our local communities, lest we find the gap between rich and poor morph into a bottomless canyon of despair.