Baltimore Transmission

Baltimore Transmission
The Industrial Park Road entrance to the factory in 2019
Map
Built2000 (2000)
Operated2000–2019
LocationWhite Marsh, Maryland, U.S.
IndustryAutomotive
ProductsTransmissions
Electric motors
Employees300 (2018)
Volume471,000 sq ft (43,800 m2)
Address10301 Philadelphia Road, White Marsh, MD 21162, U.S.
Owner(s)General Motors
Defunct2019; 5 years ago (2019)

Baltimore Transmission, also known as Baltimore Operations, was a General Motors transmission factory in White Marsh, Maryland, United States. It is located at 10301 Philadelphia Road and operated from December 2000 to May 2019, producing transmissions used in full-size pickup trucks as well as electric motors. The property has been purchased for office and industrial redevelopment.

History

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In May 1999, the plant was announced to be located on a former sand and gravel quarry, operated from the 1930s to the 1990s, near the White Marsh Mall.[1] GM's Allison Transmission division received millions of dollars in economic incentives from the state of Maryland and Baltimore County as part of luring the facility to White Marsh.[2] The first phase of the plant, a $202 million investment, opened in December 2000 and was officially dedicated on March 30, 2001; however, GM stalled on plans it had initially made to double the facility's size soon after opening.[3]

Maryland governor Martin O'Malley and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis tour Baltimore Operations in 2012

In 2007, after a $118 million upgrade, Baltimore Transmission began to produce two-mode hybrid transmissions for 2008 model year Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids using the first transmission of this type developed in the United States.[4] By 2009, the plant had 200 hourly and 40 salaried employees.[5] In 2013, a new section of the facility began to produce electric motors for the Chevrolet Spark, after a $121 million investment by GM matched by $105 million from the United States Department of Energy.[6]

GM announced in October 2019 that it would permanently close the factory, producing transmissions for full-size pickups,[7] as part of an agreement with the United Auto Workers to end a strike by the union. It had already idled the facility, laying off nearly 300 employees, and four others under plans announced the previous year.[8] It was GM's last plant in Maryland, after Baltimore Assembly on Broening Highway closed in 2005.[9] Half of the workers transferred to GM plants in other parts of the United States; the other half either retired or quit.[9]

In 2021, the plant site was purchased by Merritt Properties for redevelopment as nine new one-story buildings containing about 750,000 square feet (70,000 m2) of office and warehouse space,[10] replacing the existing 471,000-square-foot (43,800 m2) transmission factory.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Apperson, Jay (May 20, 1999). "GM plant planned in Balto. Co.: Truck transmissions would be built near White Marsh Mall". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 1A, 8A. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Apperson, Jay; Shelsby, Ted (May 21, 1999). "State, county package lured GM factory". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 1D, 8D. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Shelsby, Ted (March 31, 2001). "GM hedges on expanding Allison plant". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 11C, 18C. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Thomas, Ken (October 31, 2007). "GM plant in Md. produces hybrid transmission systems". The Star-Democrat. Easton, Maryland. Associated Press. p. A10. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Walker, Andrea K. (April 24, 2009). "GM shutdown: White Marsh transmission plant to close 4–8 weeks". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 16. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Smith Hopkins, Jamie (April 17, 2013). "GM unveils electric motor in White Marsh". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 1, 14. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Isaacs, Abby (November 26, 2018). "GM is slashing 14,700 jobs in North America; 310 from White Marsh". WMAR-TV. Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Krisher, Tom (November 26, 2018). "GM to lay off up to 14K workers, close as many as 5 plants". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Mirabella, Lorraine (October 18, 2019). "Closure of General Motors' White Marsh plant is official, local union officials told". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  10. ^ Montcalmo, Chris (March 24, 2021). "Merritt Properties acquires former General Motors facility in White Marsh". NottinghamMD.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  11. ^ Simmons, Melody (November 28, 2018). "GM's 65-acre plant in White Marsh already drawing interest among developers". Baltimore Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
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39°22′18″N 76°26′24″W / 39.37167°N 76.44000°W / 39.37167; -76.44000

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