DETROIT – American Axle and Manufacturing's production facility that straddles Detroit and Hamtramck will be torn down.
The company closed the facility in early 2012. Spokesmen for American Axle say the property is on the market and its location along Interstate 75 at Holbrook Avenue makes it ideally suited for a logistics facility. The demolition of 1.9 million square feet of manufacturing space may make the property more attractive.
American Axle will maintain approximately 540,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space. Hamtramck Mayor Kate Majewski said the news came as a surprise.
"It's quite a surprise to me and a shock to me because the city has not been notified at all, not even a preliminary notification, not even a phone call. So, the only thing that we know about this story is what we've been reading in the newspapers," Majewski said.
American Axle and Manufacturing was created in 1994 when investors purchased five plants from General Motors. The company's headquarters offices remain at the site. It has six other manufacturing and engineering facilities in Michigan, with more than 2,000 workers.
The company hopes to begin demolition work at the Detroit and Hamtramck site sometime in July. The demolition process is expected to take six to eight months.