GM says open to moving from Detroit headquarters

[MrCrush1914]

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...54A3KG20090511

[ejames01]

What the hell?!?

[HazenPingree]

I read the News article, and I call BS.

It seems that the Warren mayor is offering tax abatements, and touting that the city has no income taxes [[unlike Detroit.)

I have a hunch,that if ANYTHING, GM will threaten to leave, and then get offered a bunch of juicy city tax incentives.

[3420]

I was just thinking the same thing. They threaten to leave and they get offered a bunch of tax incentives. This should be one of the first test for our newly elected mayor. But at the end of the day I think they will stay put.

[Bobl]

Just got out my old, dusty copy of "Nobody In Detroit", by the Howling Diablos.....

[GREENTROIT]

Yeah great idea...

Good luck selling the Renaissance Center, I'm sure there will be hundreds of people lining up to buy that complex. There's no way they're leaving.

[digitalvision]

I've been hearing rumors of this for awhile, but didn't believe them. I've mentioned them in passing here. There's lots of real estate people positioning for an impending move to Warren with their employees.

What I constantly heard from inside GM was that they would consolidate in Warren, get out from Detroit employee [[Ahem... CEOs make decisions based on THEIR needs) taxes as well as much higher Detroit corporate taxes, and make a lot of their employees happier. They have no choice to consider this because in a bankruptcy situation all costs have to be on the table, and Detroit's costs of doing business are higher than most areas of the country.

My thought? This is a power play. They're going to hit Detroit to reduce their taxes through incentives - and Detroit will have no choice but to give in. They cannot lose GM at any cost.

... Just written in the Freep - yes, here we go with another regional infight ...

“We have some things to offer General Motors. We have no city income tax unlike our sister city to the south,” Fouts said of Detroit. “We have clean and safe neighborhoods.”

http://freep.com/article/20090511/BU...bout+moving+HQ

[missn]

Note to Warren:

Detroit is not your sister. It is your parent. Show some respect.

[chitaku]

son of a ...... and screw you Fouts god job adding to the constant City vs Suburbs battle. I feel bad for the younger folks who live and want to stay here, yet have to deal with selfish assholes in power.

[E hemingway]

I wouldn't be too critical of Fouts. He's just doing his job. Any other city would jump at the chance to land a Fortune 500 company headquarters, especially one that already has a significant presence in the city.

[Hypestyles]

uh-oh.. if GM bolts, what happens to the riverwalk, etc.? what other corporation would it even be feasible to take up space there? geez..

[digitalvision]

Great point Hemingway - our state constitution encourages this kind of crap. We used to have a law that prevented incentives to be used to attract one company from one city to another in the state; but of course, it's benefited us and if you live by the sword, you will die by the sword [[hence why I have ALWAYS been against incentives, but instead for FIXING THE DAMN STRUCTURAL PROBLEM).

Exactly the reasons Hypestyles and Chitaku put out is why this is going to be Bing's #1 test right off the bat to shut the door on this right away.

There's a lot of tests for our new mayor. Let's see if his CEO skills are sharp enough to hit the ground running. I have some confidence, but I want to see a steady diet of progress and announcements from Mr. Bing's office. I know it's not his style to announce ahead of time, but he's going to need to communicate constantly - in a way that Kilpatrick promised but never delivered on - to engender trust in these very uncertain times.

[irish_mafia]

The article that you are referring to:

http://detnews.com/article/20090511/...ort-to-lure-GM

This kind of thing happens you when people keep electing, criminals, psychotics, sociopaths and idiots that tell anyone who wants to help the city to f-off. Eventually, we all get the message and stop trying to help.

Better to keep GM in Warren than have it move to New York.
Better to keep the auto show in Novi than have it move to Chicago
Better to have kids thrive in charter, private and parochial schools than drown in the DPS that turned down millions of $$ in aid and stole the rest

[President Sekou]

If GM leaves, they can take there goddamn Pontiac that I drive with them. Then I swear I will buy strictly foreign for the rest of my life and I will convince everyone I know to do so as well. And if those socialist force the move then well hello Republican party.

[irish_mafia]

More people in Warren can afford a new GM car than people in Detroit

[detroitsky]

what the fucking hell?

[iheartthed]

More people in Warren can afford a new GM car than people in Detroit

Seriously doubt that.

[firstandten]

How come I am getting the feeling that regionalism only works one way !



GM should have been at the tech center all along. When they made that move from the Blvd, they should have gone straight to the tech center but their leaders have had there heads in the sand thinking they were going to get back to the market share they got 20 years ago.

[Linda from Detroit]

Like many Detroiters I've always been loyal to American vehicles even though we no longer live there. My last GM car was a disaster that ended up coming close to bankrupting us keeping up with the repairs. It will be the last time I try to keep buying American when it comes to a car if GM tosses Detroit under the bus.

[Patrick]

How come I am getting the feeling that regionalism only works one way !

This. Stop bitching about GM leaving Detroit. Would you rather see them leave for nearby Warren or go down the toilet altogether?

[irish_mafia]

The answer of course is that regionalism does only go one way. We have a population in the city of Detroit that were given wonderful assets and instead of doing things to attract business and build upon these assets has begged for [[excuse me, demanded) money from everyone outside of the city so that they could line their pockets and allow these "jewels" to rot.

Time to buckle down and get business done were it can get done.

[Angry Dad]

If GM leaves the Ren Cen what do they leave?

Well the building is fixed now, as fixed as it could be.

Since they have huge amounts of paid for office space in Warren, why would they stay in the Ren Cen?

And now the Ren Cen is somewhat attractive.

This is actually a good move by GM and a good thing for the city.

[Gistok]

GM employees paying an income tax to Detroit versus GM employees NOT paying an income tax to Warren.... how does that help GM out of its' current mess?

It doesn't...

So I won't be losing any sleep over that issue.

I don't think that the feds are going to force GM to move either... our US senators will fight that one...

Since GM already paid $1/2 billion to fix up the RenCen for their needs, how would the added expense of a move to the Tech Center be viewed as improving their bottom line?

They would have to spend many millions more in order to move to the Tech Center.

Warren mayor Fouts [[someone who I always likened to a "Monica Conyers of Warren" when he used to be on their city council) can only offer local tax breaks.

THERE'S NO WAY that the state will offer any tax breaks for them to move.

And Warren, whos seedy south side requires all the help it can get, isn't exactly awash in cash...

[rooms222]

This is about survival. When GM declares bankruptcy, it can get rid of the assets that no longer support the future of the business. GM needs the assets at the Tech Center to develop, test, and certify cars [[unless it can lease space from another automaker without the issues of them stealing trade secrets). It may not the space downtown.

Perhaps the corporation and non-resident tax for Detroit will be lowered [[to 1% and 0.5% respectively) to match the maximums in the rest of the state [[Saginaw, Highland Park and Grand Rapids being the special exceptions allowed to charge a higher rate besides Detroit).

[Gistok]

This is actually a good move by GM and a good thing for the city.

You're joking right? Which city exactly is this a good thing for? Detroit?