Corey Williams

Associated Press

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing has a new podcast brought to you by the editors of Industrial Media. In each episode, we discuss the five biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward.

This Dec. 20, 2019 file photo provided by Michigan Department of Transportation shows toxic chemical substances leaking along Interstate 696 in Madison Heights, Mich.

'Green Ooze' Site Subject to Forfeiture

Five properties tied to Electro-Plating Services owe back taxes and interest.

Tina Wheeler, manager of Dan and Vi's pizza poses for a photo Thursday in Detroit. Dan and Vi’s pizza deli, one of the few eateries near the Detroit-Hamtramck General Motors plant, says sales have been down, though Wednesday’s noontime crowd snaked around the small shop nearly to the door.

UAW-GM Strike Proving Costly to Local Economy

As the strike churns through a fourth week, experts say lost wages means less spending, costing the state millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan speaks with Detroit residents during a job readiness event where they pre-registered to apply for jobs at a coming Fiat Chrysler assembly plant on the eastside and another nearby facility operated by the automaker.

FCA Deal Gives Detroit Residents First Crack at Jobs

It's part of a $108M development deal for a new plant in a city where the unemployment rate is more than twice the national average.

In this Feb. 26, 2019 file photo, Jeep vehicles are parked outside the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler can move forward with plans to build a new, $1.6 million assembly plant on Detroit's Eastside and invest $900 million to retool and modernize another. The Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved land deals and community benefits agreements tied to the project. They include a four-week exclusive window Detroit residents will have to apply for jobs at the facilities once laid-off workers and temporary employees are considered. Fiat Chrysler expects to add 4,950 new jobs.

New Detroit Auto Plant Lands Incentives

The city approved a $223 million incentive package in exchange for 6,400 jobs, including nearly 5,000 in the city.

In this Feb. 26, 2019 file photo, Jeep vehicles are parked outside the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. Land deals that will allow Fiat Chrysler to build a new assembly plant in Detroit are expected to cost the city and state about $107 million. Mayor Mike Duggan released details Friday of agreements reached for nearly 215 acres on the city's east side that the automaker wants as part of a $1.6 billion investment.

Detroit Reaches Land Deals for Plant

The new assembly plant is expected to add 3,850 jobs.

In this Feb. 26, 2019 file photo, Jeep vehicles are parked outside the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. When Fiat Chrysler began considering where to build its next assembly plant, the automaker didn't have far to look for land. A short walk from its Jefferson North plant on Detroit's east side is 200 acres of land the company is eyeing as part of its $1.6 billion investment to convert an engine complex into a new facility. Decades of residential flight, disinvestment and abandonment have left the Motor City with stretches of available real estate which are appealing to some developers.

Detroit's Vacant Land Becoming Asset

Decades of disinvestment and abandonment have left the Motor City with something many others just don't have: stretches of available real estate.

In a Dec. 7, 2009 file photo, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm drives a pre-production Chevrolet Volt at the Hamtramck Assembly plant in Hamtramck, Mich. GMs' planned shutdown of its Detroit-Hamtramck plant would leave only one auto assembly factory in the city known for 'putting America on wheels,' but the closure and job losses are not expected to stall-out Detroit's remarkable comeback following its 2014 bankruptcy exit. GM wants to close four facilities in the United States and one in Canada.

Detroit's Rebound Won't Stall

A more tech-driven and medical industry economy is moving Detroit further from a reliance on manufacturing.

Protesters stand behind police tape, watching as police and first responders tend to the scene after a truck collided with into protesters calling for the right to form unions Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, in Flint, Mich. Police said the collision appears to be an accident.

Wage Protests in MI Result in Accident, Arrests

Protests were organized by Fight for $15, a national movement seeking to increase the minimum wage.

In this June 6, 2018 photo, Alice Holland stands outside the front door of her home in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood. Holland likes how things are improving in Detroit five years after the city filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, but says more improvements can be made in city neighborhoods. Holland complains that trash-clogged drains cause some streets in Brightmoor to flood during heavy rains.

Bankrupt Detroit Reborn at a Cost

The turnaround since then has been remarkable, but it has cost some people more than others.

In this Thursday, June 14, 2018 photo, Bill Ford Jr., Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, poses in the Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Ford Motor Co. is embarking on a 4-year renovation of the 105-year-old depot and 17-story office tower just west of downtown. The massive project is expected to increase the automaker’s footprint in the city where the company was founded, provide space for electric and autonomous vehicle testing and research and spur investment in the surrounding neighborhood.

Ford Showcases Plans for Michigan Station

The station, which looms over Detroit's Corktown neighborhood, has stood empty since the last train left in 1988.

In this Jan. 26, 2018 photo, passengers wait on the QLINE transit train in Detroit. Some cities and regions are dangling racial diversity along with positive business climates, competitive tax rates and available land in pitches to lure tech companies and high-paying jobs to town. Places such as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit are touting their populations of people of color to chief executives and other corporate officials as part of being open for business.

Cities Pitch Diversity to Lure Business

Millennials are saying they want to live and work in a place where there are diverse cultures.