Too bad the SBT is such a "jobs killer", huh, Dick?
The Senator's office released news that United Solar Ovonic LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. will build a new, high-tech manufacturing facility in Greenville.
“ECD is one of the leading U.S. companies developing technologies to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign oil,” Levin said in a press release. “I'm delighted that they are expanding their operations by building a new facility in Greenville, where they will find a highly skilled workforce and receptive business environment. I commend Governor Granholm's leadership in forging this partnership between United Solar Ovonic, the Greenville community, and the State of Michigan.”
Greenville City Manager George Bosanic talked with WZZM 13 News Tuesday night, “The press release you received has number of 563 jobs and that is true, but there's much more than that that will be revealed tomorrow."
Wednesday, Governor Granholm will announce United Solar Ovonic, a company based in Auburn Hills, will expand and build a new facility in Greenville's industrial park.
Bosanic said, “I feel a sense of relief because we've been working on this for three months now and fought very, very hard in competition with another state."
That state is South Carolina but City Hall is revealing little more than that, saying only that Greenville won, in part, because of its highly skilled workforce.
Cry louder, Dick, West Michigan isn't hearing you.
According to an article in last night's GR Press, the Grand Rapids region has added 8,900 new jobs to the area between Jan. of 2005 and Jan. 2006.
Trucking, along with public utilities and retail and wholesale stores, generated the biggest payroll growth in the Grand Rapids region last year, adding 2,000 jobs. It also was the largest sector, with 76,100 workers, according to a report by the Michigan Department of Labor &Economic Growth.
The fastest-growing sector, by percentage, was leisure and hospitality, adding 1,700 jobs for a 5.6 percent increase. Those 32,300 jobs are in hotels, restaurants, bars, arts, recreation and entertainment.
Telephone calls to several boat and watercraft stores Monday were deferred because sales people were too busy, an indication of the boost in leisure and transportation industries.
Manufacturing, long a stalwart of the regional economy, was flat year to year, unchanged at 74,100 jobs.
In the Michigan jobs report, the only loser over the past year in the Grand Rapids region was the construction and mining category, down 200 jobs to 16,900.
Seasonal layoffs in construction, retail sales and employment services led the job loss column, raising the unemployment rate in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming area by 0.3 percent to 5.6 percent, or 1,200 new unemployed.
I'm kind of perplexed by the construction loss. Seems there is stuff going up all over the place.
"I like living in the state of Michigan but not in a state of denial."- Dick DeVos 3/20/06
Well, Dick, come and join us in reality. I think the leadership we have is doing just fine. After all, how many jobs have you created in the last four years since you left Alticor, hmmmm?