The Detroit 3 Could Hire 36,000 Employees

The Detroit Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) could add to their factories by 2015 a number of 36,000 new jobs, with a large part of them located in Michigan.

The three carmakers apparently have plans to consolidate their actions in the area as Sean McAlinden, senior economist for the Center for Automotive Research, stated. “The Detroit 3 are expected to add 36,000 factory jobs by 2015, all of them paying new-hire wages and benefits that are half of what is typically paid to traditional UAW autoworkers,” McAlinden said.

Between 2000 and 2009, in the US, there have been 230,000 job disposals, but now things are about to change as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler find themselves in a good position to add jobs, as the economy shows important signs of recovery.

McAlinden revealed that the automakers have already called back some of the workers they fired during the recession. “The carmakers are producing near the limits of what the current UAW work force of 102,000 can do on maximum overtime,” he reported.

“They will have to hire to increase production once all laid-off UAW members nationally are back to work by September. So any additional production through the summer requires new hiring. I am not saying mass hiring, but significant hiring,” McAlinden added.

Until 2015, we should expect an ascending trend regarding employment, that would potentially lead to more than 137,000 employed personnel overall. As compared to 2010’s 101,936 employed people, that would mean more than 35,000 new jobs available.

The entry level wage is expected to be somewhere around $15 per hour. According to McAlinden, it is likely that the UAW will raise the entry level wages in the future.