How jobs will change in Arlington as General Motors moves to all-electric cars by 2035
General Motors isn’t just one of Arlington’s oldest and largest employers.
The 67-year-old GM Arlington Assembly Plant is part of the city’s civic identity, right up there with the Texas Rangers baseball club and Six Flags Over Texas.
But GM is in the midst of an identity overhaul of its own.
The company’s chair and chief executive officer, Mary Barra, announced in late January that GM would convert its automobile manufacturing lines to electric-only by 2035. “The Start Button to an All-Electric Future has Been Pushed,” the company boasts on a website page explaining its commitment to eliminate tailpipe emissions in all its light-duty vehicles — including pickups and SUVs.
Many people who follow the auto industry are sounding an alarm that the conversion to an all-electric assembly line will result in the loss of thousands of jobs at GM’s factories, including the Arlington plant. Electric vehicles have far fewer parts than cars that run on combustible engines, and require far fewer humans to assemble.
For Arlington, the conversion to all-electric will require huge changes to the production lines. About 5,300 people work at the Arlington plant, and the enormous facility is where GM makes many of its best-selling, gas guzzling vehicles, including Chevy Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades.
Jennifer Kelly, research director for the United Auto Workers union, estimated that with the shift to electric vehicles — or EVs — the auto industry could lose as many as 35,000 jobs.
However, that estimate was published during a GM workers’ strike in 2019, and since then the union has ended its strike and reached a new contract with GM, and toned down its concerns about the impending changes. The union also recently issued a report labeled Taking the High Road, in which the union expressed confidence that the transition to electric manufacturing will go smoothly.
But the UAW is calling for car manufacturers and the federal government to ensure that American jobs are protected, and that parts for electric vehicles are not outsourced to other countries.
“As the automotive and tech companies begin to transform the automotive industry, it is important to ensure that companies do not use this shift as an opportunity to turn its back on workers,” UAW said in the report. “While everyone is familiar with the high paid leaders in the tech industry – the vast majority of tech workers face a different reality. Electronics manufacturing is generally pushed to low-cost countries, where workers have few rights, while white collar jobs in developed countries are often staffed by temporary or contract workers.”
GM officials say they are committed to preserving jobs, and training the existing work force to build the new EV cars.
“We intend to bring our employees along with us through our transformation to an all-electric future,” company spokesman Daniel Flores said in an email. “Some job assignments will change but we will have opportunities for everyone to come along with us in this transformation.”
The company also is building a battery factory in Ohio in a partnership with South Korean company LG Chem, and also is reportedly considering building a second battery facility as well.
GM’s impact in Texas
GM can build about one SUV per minute — 1,200 per day — at the Arlington plant, with employees working three shifts six days a week. The company managed to deliver 275,435 vehicles in 2020, despite interruptions caused by the COVID pandemic.
Statewide, more than 13,500 Texans work for GM. In addition to the Arlington plant, the company operates a GM Financial headquarters in downtown Fort Worth, and also runs an IT Innovation Center in Austin.
City tax breaks
Arlington city officials say they’re not overly concerned about GM’s switch to zero emissions vehicles. The city is seeking more high-tech jobs for its work force, and GM’s electric assembly line will provide an opportunity for a large number of those jobs, said Jim Parajon, deputy city manager.
GM has received tax breaks from the city of Arlington over the years. In 2017, the city approved tax breaks with GM and landowner NP Arlington Industrial LLC to build a 1.2 million square foot warehousing and logistics center at the former Six Flags Mall site, not far from the plant.
The logistics center houses GM’s suppliers, so parts can be delivered to the assembly lines in just minutes.
The tax incentive agreements provided NP Arlington a 10-year, 100% abatement of city property taxes on the added value of the logistics center site, which could save the company an estimated $2.6 million. Another agreement makes NP Arlington eligible for up to $6 million in grants and up to $2 million for public infrastructure improvements to the site.
The city also has an incentive deal with GM for a 10-year tax abatement that would forgive 80% of business personal property taxes that the city would have collected. That could save GM an estimated $2.7 million.
Council members said at the time that the incentives were important because they tied GM to the city for a period of time.
Parajon said the city’s agreement with GM brought in an additional 589 new jobs, in addition to GM’s existing employment base, and those additions are to remain in place until at least 2028.
He said the city has an open dialog with GM and is confident that the company wants to remain in Arlington for many years to come.
“We’re an innovation city,” Parajon said, “so for mobility companies like General Motors that are transitioning to new products, we’re always excited about the opportunity for that job growth and value growth.”
