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Transat lant ic Cable
EuroWire – January 2006
24
EuroWire – September 2 09
Attracted by the state’s pool of tech-
savvy workers, GE picks Michigan
for a project that will
create 1,200 jobs this year
Reporting on the opening of General Electric’s new $100-million
“advanced manufacturing technology and software center”
in southeast Michigan, Detroit Free Press business writer John
Gallagher noted a formula for fuller employment.
Where skilled labour is available, other elements can be made to
fall into place: regional government, corporate leadership, the
educational establishment.
Commenting on GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt’s selection of
a home for a project that will generate up to 1,200 jobs in the
first year, Mr Gallagher wrote, “The presence of skilled local talent
was one reason Immelt cited for GE’s choice of Michigan for a
center that could have gone anywhere.”
At a joint news conference to announce the opening of the
GE centre, Governor Jennifer Granholm said the new jobs
would pay in the range of $100,000 per year – welcome news in
a state with an unemployment rate for May of 14.1%, the highest
in the nation.
The first question for Mr Immelt was how quickly local people
could apply for work at the centre. He said that GE was setting
up a website for the purpose. (“New Facility to Hire Tech-Savvy
Workers,” 27
th
June)
“We’ve had a long association with the state,” Mr Immelt told the
news conference, in Birmingham. “The University of Michigan is
one of the biggest feeders into the GE system. We’ve long been
believers in the quality education of the state. We can tap into
some of the great labour resources that already exist in the state.”
Mr Gallagher observed that a very considerable “dowry” was
offered to seal “this public-private marriage.” The Michigan
Economic Growth Authority approved $74 million in potential
tax credits for GE over 12 years.
The estimated return to the state during that period from
increased tax collections would be $146 million. Both Gov
Granholm and Mr Immelt gave full marks to US Senator
Debbie Stabenow for helping win the GE project for Michigan,
which has been devastated by the contraction of the domestic
auto industry.
One of the largest US firms, GE makes transportation and
❈
❈
energy equipment. The new centre to open later this
year in Visteon Village, about 25 miles from Detroit, will
feature a research and development facility to produce
next-generation manufacturing technologies for GE’s
renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine, and other
high-technology products.
The company said in a statement that the work “will include
development of composites, machining, inspection, and
casting and coating technologies for GE’s aviation and
energy businesses.”
Air wars
The Paris Air Show was good for Airbus –
less so for Boeing
The perennial – some might say perpetual – exchange of
unpleasantries between the world’s two leading aircraft makers
is set for another round, and the air over the Atlantic is thick with
claims and counterclaims of unfair preferment and advantage.
Chicago-based Boeing Co says it expects the World Trade
Organization to back the company and the US government in
a legal dispute over state assistance to European rival Airbus
SAS, which is seeking nearly $5 billion in launch aid for its new
wide-bodied A350 jet.
Boeing also expects the WTO ruling in its favour to be ignored
by Airbus, thereby spurring Washington to action against the
four major Airbus shareholders: Britain, France, Germany, and
Spain. Retaliation by the Europeans could set off the ugliest
and costliest trade dispute in many years. As these matters are
in the hands of the WTO, they need not detain us. Meanwhile,
the 48
th
International Paris Air Show, held 15
th
–21
st
June at
Le Bourget Exhibition Centre, permitted an interim evaluation
of the combatants on another field of battle. While neither
manufacturer would offer projections for deliveries next year,
and both said they spent much of the show reassuring suppliers
about build rates, a clear winner emerged: Airbus.
Airbus’s Paris orders were worth $6.4 billion at list price.
(As reported from the show by Andrea Rothman and Susanna
Ray of Bloomberg News, Airbus said it has kept its pricing firm
despite the global recession.) The unit of European Aeronautic,
Defense & Space Co (EADS) also announced it had 69 com-
mitments worth another $6.5 billion, including two A350s for
Vietnam Airlines. Boeing won seven commitments for its 777s
from Turkish Airlines, and two firm orders for other planes.
Telecom
The world’s leading mobile phone makers
pledge that, as of 2010, a universal charger
will be able to power all their smartphones
Texas Instruments Inc and Qualcomm Inc, two US companies
that make components for cell phones, were among the signers
of an agreement that would impose a single charging standard
for mobile data-enabled (‘smart’) phones sold in European Union
member countries.
Other companies now committed to developing a standard for
phone charging based on the Micro-USB interface include Nokia
Corp, Motorola Inc, and Apple Inc (all US), Samsung Electronics
Co and LG Electronics Inc (both of South Korea), Sony Ericsson
(Swedish), Research in Motion Ltd (Canadian), and NEC Corp
(Japanese). These alone account for more than 80% of the global
market for cell phones, suggesting that the new charger will
likely become standard well beyond the EU.