Workers leave the AM General Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka in this June 2017 file photo. AM General has sold its commercial assembly plant to SF Motors, the subsidiary of a Chinese company that plans to build electric vehicles at the Mishawaka plant. South Bend Tribune file photo/MICHAEL CATERINA
MISHAWAKA — Laid off auto workers could be returning soon to the production line to assemble electric cars, after a deal was finalized Wednesday for the sale of the AM General commercial auto assembly plant in Mishawaka.
As The Tribune reported in June, Chinese-owned SF Motors, an electric car manufacturer, will purchase the plant and said it plans to employ all of the former AM General workers. That same month, AM General announced the planned closure of its commercial plant, after the conclusion of a two-year contract with Mercedes-Benz. Last month, 435 workers were laid off.
A news release announcing the deal said the company “plans to retain all of the current (plant) employees through several phases, and is expected to preserve approximately 430 American auto worker jobs.”
It was also reported in June that SF Global will pay $110 million for the 700,000-square-foot plant, according to publicly available filings, and make $30 million in “key upgrades” to the facility, which sits between McKinley Highway and Jefferson Boulevard, west of Bittersweet Road.
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