K.C. plant to build new Saturn

General Motors expects line to provide 280 jobs

? General Motors Corp. made it official Thursday, saying it will build a new mid-sized vehicle for the company’s Saturn brand at its assembly plant in Kansas City’s Fairfax Industrial District northeast of downtown.

Officials declined to give any details on the vehicle, or even its name. They said that information would be released during the second half of 2006.

Word leaked out of Detroit earlier this month that GM planned to build a new Saturn mid-size at its Fairfax plant that would replace the Saturn L-series, which was built in Wilmington, Del., but discontinued this summer due to poor sales.

Last week, commissioners with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., approved GM’s request for a $6.2 million tax abatement.

The five-year deal paves the way for GM to invest $203 million to build a third production line at the plant, which builds the Chevy Malibu and the Malibu Maxx.

“The Unified Government’s recent support of our tax abatement application without a doubt was a very, very critical part of our taking this business case forward and getting it approved by our board of directors,” Joe Speilman, GM’s general manager of vehicle manufacturing, told employees during a news conference on the factory floor.

Company officials said the new line would employ up to 280 new workers when it gets up and running in a couple years. The plant now has around 3,000 workers and produces more than 200,000 vehicles a year.

Kansas Lt. Gov. John Moore said the state would provide $4 million for training new workers.

“The performance of this plant and its work force is what determined where this expansion occurred, so you have all contributed to our economy,” Moore told the employees.