The defense contractor announced Thursday that over the next two years it will close its facility on Ruffin Road, which employs 530 people. The facility is the base for the company’s division that manufactures airline auxiliary power units.
The move is part of a sea change in American manufacturing: After three decades of an exodus of production to China and other low-wage countries, companies have sharply curtailed moves abroad. Some, like Generac, have begun to return manufacturing to U.S. shores.
Musk said the automaker is working through a number of issues with Gov. Jerry Brown’s staff but fears the company would not get the various environmental and other permits in time to get the factory built and running quickly . . . “We can’t afford to wait a year or more for permits to proceed,” Musk said. “If we don’t have the gigafactory online when we have the vehicle capacity online we would be in deep trouble.”
A $50-million-dollar planned expansion at the Cargill Meat Solutions facility southwest of Fresno should add 300 jobs to the 1,000-person workforce already employed there.
Palo Alto-based Tesla is opening a new 431,000-square-foot facility in the San Joaquin County city of Lathrop.
Problems at some of the state’s fuel refineries have sent gasoline prices soaring in California just in time for the kickoff of the busy driving season.
After a months-long battle with the city of Irwindale over complaints about a spicy odor, Sriracha sauce creator David Tran said Wednesday he is now seriously considering moving his factory to another location.
About 150 employees at rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne in Canoga Park were told Wednesday that they would be laid off as part of a companywide reduction that the company says is related to last year’s merger.
Gases and liquids pumped out of the ground, including ethane, can be processed into chemicals that are made into products ranging from plastics and antifreeze to cosmetics. New petrochemical projects are under way, with Dow Chemical, Sasol Ltd., Phillips 66 and other companies building 148 factories and plant expansions, thanks to the plentiful natural gas now available in the U.S., the American Chemistry Council said.
The Germany-based drug maker makes the blood-clotting hemophilia A drug Kogenate in Berkeley and recommitted to that facility in 2011 with a four-year contract for its unionized workforce. But the company said Tuesday that two experimental drugs will add to its pipeline and it needs to expand German facilities in Leverkusen and Wuppertal by 2020.
So it came as a punch to the gut when Tesla Motors Inc., one of the few bright spots in California manufacturing, announced two weeks ago that it plans to build a “gigafactory” in some Western state not named California.
The Palo Alto electric car maker’s Model S sedan is the state’s new eco-luxury status symbol. Californians bought more than a third of Teslas sold globally last year. Residents of the state pack the order list for Tesla’s next offering, a sport utility vehicle.
California pollution-control policies enable Tesla to rake in tens of millions of dollars each year from selling environmental credits to other automakers — a key source of Tesla’s revenue.
When it comes to building a $4-billion to $5-billion battery factory that will employ 6,500 workers, Tesla is shunning the Golden State.
Tesla Motors confirmed Wednesday that Nevada is a site finalist for a massive lithium ion battery factory it needs to support a ramped up production of its electric cars. According to Tesla’s blog, Nevada is competing against New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. Final site selection is underway as the states engage in a tax incentive bidding war for the plant. A decision could come anyday.
Huy Fong Foods, the creator of Sriracha hot sauce, has been closed to the public for more than 30 years, fearing that competitors would steal trade secrets. But after months of Irwindale residents and city officials accusing the sauce maker of flooding their city with an offensive spicy odor, the notoriously private company has thrown open its doors.
The Palo Alto, Calif., company outlined plans for a factory that would employ up to 6,500 people and cover as many as 1,000 acres, including solar and wind farms to supply its power needs. It is evaluating sites in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, Tesla said in a regulatory filing.