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General Motors plans to move its luxury car engineering operations from Flint to Warren during the next two to three years, affecting about 3,500 employees of the automaker and its suppliers, a company official said.
The move to Warren is part of a plan to consolidate car engineering in one location, thus reducing the time it takes to develop new vehicles, said Gerald Elson, general manager of GM's Cadillac-Luxury Car Division.
The announcement is a blow to the Flint area, which bas several GM facilities facing uncertain futures, and the move would leave a major hole at the Great Lakes Technology Centre on S. Saginaw Street, which was converted from the historic Fisher 1 assembly plant seven years ago.
The engineering operation occupies 940,000 square feet, more than half the space at the Great Lakes center.
In an interview with The Flint Journal, Elson said the move "is not a reflection on the city of Flint."
He said Flint stands a good chance to land more GM work at the engineering center.
"The probability is high that the facility will be utilized," he said, saying on a scale of 1 to 10, the chances of finding new work are 8 or 9.
However, Elson declined to say what could go in the Flint facility.
GM has at least one-major incentive to find something to fill the space occupied by CLCD at the engineering center: The automaker's lease does not expire until 2018.
GM's Delphi Energy and Engine Management Systems Division also occupies a major portion of the...