Google’s self-driving car company Waymo will build a new self-driving car plant in Detroit.
The company announced they have picked the American Axle plant in Detroit to convert for production of Waymo autonomous vehicles.
Waymo says in a blog, “We will partner with American Axle & Manufacturing to repurpose an existing facility, bringing a workforce back to an area where jobs in the automotive industry were recently lost. “We’re thrilled to join Detroit’s vibrant community.”
The state Economic Development Corporation says the project will create 100 new jobs and 300 more eventually
The move will create Waymo’s first assembly plant for the retrofitting of vehicles provided by Fiat Chrysler and Jaguar.
American Axle & Manufacturing last made front axles in the factory, ending production in 2012 after a strike by UAW members.
Waymo will invest $13.6 million to adapt an existing plant within the Holbrook Avenue location and says it could eventually grow to 200,000 square feet.
Waymo already has facility in SE Michigan. Waymo opened a facility in Novi in 2017 to house vehicles used for testing in cold-weather. 20 people are employed there.