Ford, GM cuts leave Georgia out in cold in auto plant battle

<p>The battle to attract and retain automobile assembly plants has left the Peach State out in the cold.</p><p>Georgia is losing its two plants that make cars, both in metro Atlanta, and efforts for a third near Savannah were scrapped when DaimlerChrysler AG backed out.</p><p>Neighboring states, meanwhile, in recent years have wooed big-name automakers. Tennessee even convinced Nissan Motor Co. to relocate its North American headquarters there.</p><p>The reasons, analysts say, are financial incentives the other states offered and political clout.</p><p>"I do not predict a big future for Georgians who want to be autoworkers," said Emory University business professor Jeffrey Rosensweig.</p><p>Georgia has other big corporations, of course. Atlanta is home to The Home Depot Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., beverage maker Coca-Cola Co., telecommunications giant BellSouth Corp. and shipping giant UPS Inc.</p><p>But the loss of manufacturing jobs has been a bitter pill to swallow for Georgia politicians, especially because the two plants being closed have been open for nearly 60 years.</p><p>In November, General Motors Corp. said it was closing nine plants, including its assembly plant in Doraville, which makes the Buick Terraza, Chevy Uplander, Pontiac Montana SV6 and the Saturn Relay.</p><p>Ford's announcement Monday that it will close 14 manufacturing facilities, including the Taurus assembly plant in Hapeville, was more bad news for Gov. Sonny Perdue, who has been touting Georgia's economic recovery as part of his re-election bid this year. The Doraville and Hapeville plants together employ about 5,000 people.</p><p>Last April, DaimlerChrysler told Georgia officials the German automaker wouldn't build a van assembly plant in Pooler, west of Savannah. It didn't say why, but market conditions have been cited by observers. When the plant was first announced in 2002, state officials promised more than 3,300 jobs and an investment of $754 million. The state's only other assembly plant that makes motor vehicles is bus maker Blue Bird Corp.'s plant in Fort Valley, Ga. The state has other plants that make auto parts.</p><p>Perdue said the state had provided Ford with a package of incentives to retool the plant, but that apparently wasn't enough to get the automaker to stay.</p><p>"I'm satisfied that we did everything we could and that comes from Ford, frankly," Perdue said.</p><p>Perdue's would-be Democratic rivals sought to turn the news into a campaign issue.</p><p>Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor bemoaned what he said were a string of job losses under the Perdue administration. Secretary of State Cathy Cox criticized Perdue for not making a trip to Michigan to meet with Ford executives face-to-face in recent weeks to plead the state's case.</p><p>Perdue said state officials met with Ford executives last February and maintained an ongoing dialogue as negotiations have continued.</p><p>Money also is an issue in the auto plant battle, said George Magliano, director of auto research for the consulting firm Global Insight.</p><p>"It's whatever the state is basically going to offer to attract the manufacturer there," Magliano said. "It all depends on whether the states want to play that game or don't want to play that game."</p><p>The Tennessee deal to bring Nissan from California could mean at least $6.5 million a year in tax credits from the state of Tennessee, depending on how many jobs are created by the move. The job-creation credit would last up to 20 years, making it potentially worth $130 million, according to state officials. Williamson County, Tenn., also plans to offer Nissan a property tax break.</p><p>Alabama is already home to three automobile assembly plants. As of last month the state was reportedly trying to lure a fourth. Alabama will produce about 760,000 vehicles in 2006, and the industry employs about 50,000 people in the state.</p><p>Dawn Rutledge Jones, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, said a key to her state's success has been attracting not only automakers to the state, but their suppliers as well.</p><p>"There are 125,000 employees who work in nearly 1,000 automotive businesses in Tennessee," she said. "We have worked hard in building and maintaining those relationships.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press Writers Gary Tanner in Nashville, Tenn., and Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta contributed to this report.</p>

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