LANSING — Daimler North America Corp., the parent company for German automaker Daimler AG’s U.S. operations, will move its headquarters and 30 administrative jobs to Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday.
Snyder announced the investment at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, where he is wrapping up the second leg of an automotive-centric trade mission that started in Japan.
The 30 positions to transfer to Michigan from Montvale, N.J., will include executive staff and employees in treasury, legal and accounting departments, Snyder’s office said.
Daimler spokeswoman Andrea Berg said the headquarters will be in Farmington Hills in the same facility as Mercedes-Benz’s and Daimler Trucks’ financial services, which co-locate there. The move will start next year and end in 2017, she said.
The project’s cost was not immediately known.
No state incentives were awarded to the project because too few jobs are moving, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Daimler NA holding company already has 20 employees in Farmington Hills, Berg said, with 30 more on the way for a total of 50, Berg said. Some will be transfers and others could be new hires, depending on whether employees choose to relocate from New Jersey.
Daimler’s Michigan project follows its decision this year to move its Mercedes-Benz USA headquarters from Montvale to Atlanta, where the carmaker will build a new facility by next year. The decision was partly due to higher costs of doing business in New Jersey, Mercedes-Benz officials told Crain’s sister publication Automotive News in January.
“Michigan is the world’s automotive leader, and Daimler’s decision to increase its presence in the state is another indication that we intend to hold that position for generations to come,” Snyder said in a statement. “This company has long been a valued member of our business community.”
Daimler’s Michigan operations include the headquarters for Mercedes-Benz’s financial services in Farmington Hills, which employs 400; Detroit Diesel in Redford Township, which has 2,500 workers; and Mercedes-Benz research and development centers in Redford and Ann Arbor, with 100 employees.
Snyder’s office said the governor met with leaders of 60 auto suppliers with Michigan headquarters during two days at the Frankfurt Auto Show. He is expected to return to Michigan on Thursday.
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