GM to Spend $1 Billion, Add 2,600 Salaried Jobs at Warren Tech Campus

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General Motors Co. plans to add 2,600 jobs with $1 billion to renovate and expand its Technical Center in Warren and add 2,600 salaried jobs.

Jobs will span the gamut from infotainment to IT to advanced powertrain manufacturing, Bloomberg News said.

The automaker’s announcement Thursday that it would expand and retool the 60-year-old Tech Center just north of Detroit comes on the heels of an announcement last month that it would invest $5.4 billion in its U.S. plants over the next three years, MLive.com reports.

That includes $783.5 million in upgrades at three Michigan plants – the Pontiac Metal Center ($124 million), the Lansing Delta Township plant ($520 million) and Pre-Production Operations ($139.5 million) in Warren.

The new project announced Thursday will begin this month and is expected to be completed sometime in 2018. New construction will include design studios, an IT building and product testing areas. Additionally, the R&D facilities will be renovated and office upgrades will take place throughout the Tech Center.

New parking facilities are also planned to accommodate the new employees. at the Tech Center, which currently employs 19,000 people.

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In a statement, Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development and Purchasing and Supply Chain, said the changes will transform the Tech Center “will transform this campus into a collaborative workplace of choice for our current team and future talent.”

The 326-acre tech campus, designed by world-renowned architect Eero Saarinen and landscape architect Thomas Church, was completed in 1956, It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014.

The renovation is expected to help GM compete with Silicon Valley and other tech-rich environments for technology talent, the Associated Press reports.

The Warren City Council approved a 12-year, 50 percent tax abatement plan to assist in the Tech Center upgrades last month.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said the announcement means more jobs and more revenue to support police and fire services in the community, MLive reported.

“This growth has already resulted in proposals for new investments in our downtown, which is directly across the street from the Tech Center,” he said.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder cheered the announcement as a sound demonstration of the automaker’s commitment to Michigan and its workers.

“This is why we’ve focused so hard on creating the competitive economic climate for this kind of investment in our state that will keep our comeback going strong, making Michigan the place to live, work, do business, and play,” he said in a statement.

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Photo via General Motors Co.