Lear Corporation will operate a seat manufacturing facility that will create “hundreds of new jobs” at the site of the former Cadillac Stamping Plant on Detroit’s east side, officials said Friday.
The Southfield-based company will produce seats for General Motors Co. electric vehicles, as first reported by Crain’s Detroit Business.
“We are excited to be supporting GM’s vision of moving to an all-electric future, and even more excited to be supporting that vision here in Detroit,” Lear Corp. said in a statement Friday. “As a supplier to the battery electric vehicles that will be built at GM’s Factory Zero in Detroit-Hamtramck, we will be setting up a just-in-time seating manufacturing facility at the former location of the Cadillac Stamping Plant. The facility will be one of our most energy-efficient plants in North America, and not only create hundreds of new jobs, but will be another important step forward in the redevelopment of Detroit’s eastside neighborhood.”
The former site of the Cadillac Stamping Plant at 9501 Conner has long been slated for industrial redevelopment. The project is part of the city and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation’s ongoing push to meet the demand for industrial land and to attract business.
Lear Corp.’s presence at the former stamping plant places it less than four miles from GM’s Factory Zero, which is to begin producing the GMC Hummer EV pickup later this year.
Developer Missouri-based NorthPoint Development announced last year plans for a 684,000-square-foot facility targeted to tenants in the automotive and manufacturing sector. Demolition of the century-old plant began in March.
In a June update, NorthPoint Development CEO Chad Meyer said the facility would be complete in mid 2022.
In January, the Detroit City Council approved a 12-year tax abatement for the project. The Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Michigan Strategic Fund board in December approved $3.3 million in brownfield tax credits to demolish the old plant and build a multi-tenant industrial and manufacturing facility.
cwilliams@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @CWilliams_DN