American Axle opening tech center in the city.

[brizee]

Company has already shown they can't be depended on, and it would be SOOOOOOO nice for Detroit/MI to transition away from manufacturing.

But more jobs is only a good thing.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...center-Detroit

[Danny]

I thought American Axle went out of business many years ago. Their AAM WHQ building is closed up and their gigantic factory demolished!

[animatedmartian]

I thought American Axle went out of business many years ago. Their AAM WHQ building is closed up and their gigantic factory demolished!

They just reported doubled profits for FY2014 Q2.

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...n_axles_p.html

[maverick1]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...center-Detroit

Company has already shown they can't be depended on, and it would be SOOOOOOO nice for Detroit/MI to transition away from manufacturing.

But more jobs is only a good thing.

Actually we should be trying to solidify our place in manufacturing. Manufacturing is more than a factory and low skilled workers. The factory is at the bottom. It's why they can put them anywhere.

[rex]

Detroit unquestionably needs manufacturing jobs.

[Hypestyles]

more aggressive recruitment needs to be done to get various companies to lay roots in Detroit- tech/electronics, distribution, and light manufacturing..

[313WX]

First thing's first, and that's getting Detroit out of bankruptcy.

No matter how painless Orr and Snyder try to make the proceeding, it still turns off outside investors due to the uncertainty of what may happen after the city exits bankruptcy court.

[Shai_Hulud]

Actually we should be trying to solidify our place in manufacturing. Manufacturing is more than a factory and low skilled workers. The factory is at the bottom. It's why they can put them anywhere.

No, no, this is progress. Demolish a plant that employed thousands and replace it with one that employs hundreds.

[animatedmartian]

No, no, this is progress. Demolish a plant that employed thousands and replace it with one that employs hundreds.

To be fair, they're not really hiring the same set of workers. Most manufacturing jobs these days are automated and working on a assembly is becoming less and less common while at the same time jobs that require some sort of technical or computer skills are more common. The more important thing is whether or not these barely a hundred workers are getting paid a decent proportion to how many thousands of workers were paid previously.
If half the engineers are getting paid 60K a year wouldn't that have just as positive an effect on the economy as twice as many low-level workers making only 30K?

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

No, no, this is progress. Demolish a plant that employed thousands and replace it with one that employs hundreds.

At least American Axle is replacing it with something. I did not think they'd be building anything new in Detroit or adding any jobs back.

[Wesley Mouch]

[[Martian

No

By by that logic. Wall Street bonuses are a good as jobs.

No.

Two workers buy food, groceries, housing. One higher paid buys a second home in Petosky.

[313WX]

To be fair, they're not really hiring the same set of workers. Most manufacturing jobs these days are automated and working on a assembly is becoming less and less common while at the same time jobs that require some sort of technical or computer skills are more common. The more important thing is whether or not these barely a hundred workers are getting paid a decent proportion to how many thousands of workers were paid previously.
If half the engineers are getting paid 60K a year wouldn't that have just as positive an effect on the economy as twice as many low-level workers making only 30K?

If I recall, these workers at AAM were unionized. So I'm quite sure they were making way more than $30K per year.

[Shai_Hulud]

If half the engineers are getting paid 60K a year wouldn't that have just as positive an effect on the economy as twice as many low-level workers making only 30K?

Absolutely not!

[Wesley Mouch]

I thought American Axle went out of business many years ago. Their AAM WHQ building is closed up and their gigantic factory demolished!

No, they just took manufacturing elsewhere to best serve the interests of the stockholders and other shareholders such as pension funds and the retirees who depend on their investments in retirement.

Here's the 5-year chart. They're doing pretty well it seems: http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=A...l=AXL;range=5y

You may remember that the UAW made sacrificed these workers lives in the interests of defending their bigger auto-company contracts. AXL decided to take their work where it was wanted. I believe to Mexico where AXL is no doubt improving the lives of their workers.

There's my take on it. I'm sure others see it as evil corporate torture of American workers. I blame our lack of industrial policy as the problem, not corporate greed. But I'm sure there's some of that in this story too.

[Islandman]

The only good thing I can say about Mexican Axle is that at least they demolished and removed their plant in Hamtown, and did not leave another eyesore for generations of Detroiters to enjoy and wax poetic about.