Something big is brewing at General Motors, as the Marion location plans to make an announcement Monday likely regarding updates to plant’s equipment and the preservation of jobs.
“General Motors is planning a positive news announcement on Monday,” Stephanie Jentgen, GM communications manager, said in a voicemail message to the Chronicle-Tribune.
The official announcement will take place at the Marion Metal Center facility, located at 2400 W. Second St., from 1-2 p.m. City officials and news media received invitations to attend.
Jentgen did not provide any further comment, though various news outlets are reporting on what the plant is planning. WTHR reported GM is making a $90 million investment to purchase new equipment at the Marion location.
“Many of the numbers that others have reported are incorrect,” Jentgen said.
The announcement comes a month after the Marion Common Council approved GM’s request for an $85 million tax abatement to make improvements to the plant.
GM requested a five-year, 100-percent tax abatement on new machinery and new equipment. The investment relates to tooling and equipment modifications, plant manager Tom Gallagher said at the time. He did not specify the exact nature of the improvements, stating the project is competitive and not finalized.
Marion common council member Alan Miller said he hopes the announcement is that the Marion plant got approval from the GM corporate officials to move forward with its $85 million investment plan.
WRTV reported the deal would give the option of adding another 100 jobs to the facility, but Miller said he doesn’t believe it would create jobs, rather it would retain them.
“I’m hoping that (the investment) would ensure the future of the plant in this community for a long time to go, even if it doesn’t result in adding more employees,” Miller said. “Retaining more than 1,000 employees would be important enough in itself.”
Tim Eckerle, executive director of the Grant County Economic Growth Council, supported the tax abatement last month.
“Tonight we have the opportunity for the council to join General Motors as they seek to put together a business case to convince corporate to invest additionally into the plant,” he said during the June 21 council meeting.
GM is the largest employer in Grant County, followed by Marion General Hospital and Indiana Wesleyan University. It celebrated its 60th anniversary in June.