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Chevy's new ad agency Commonwealth picks downtown Detroit as home [w/video]

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:40:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, GM

As we've reported in the past, one major issue confronting the U.S. auto industry is its ability to recruit talent to live in Detroit, home of General Motors and spiritual birthplace of Chrysler and Ford. According to the Detroit Free Press, advertising cooperative Commonwealth, a joint venture between San Francisco-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and New York-based McCann Erickson Worldwide, isn't having the same problem.

Commonwealth plans to embed itself in the middle of Detroit with 280 workers mostly imported from such marketing powerhouse cities as New York and San Francisco. The firm has already begun moving into the Palms Building which also houses the popular Fillmore Detroit performance venue. Says Todd Grantham, associate partner and Goodby's managing director for Detroit:

"You just have to be the type that comes in here and knows, I can build something here. That's how we attract people. What we want is the people who come in here and go, 'Wow, this is a blank canvas. It's all around me and now I can do something.'"

Whether or not the advertising firm will be successful in its ploy to bring more young professionals to Detroit remains to be seen, but Quicken Loans' Dan Gilbert seems to be making a pretty good go of it with his various operations. So far, there are at least three such willing transplants interviewed in the video down below. It'll surely take a lot more than three enterprising transplants to succeed, but at least it's a start. If nothing else, we're certain that there are already a good deal of talented individuals already in Detroit waiting for a chance to prove their worth.

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Chevy's new ad agency Commonwealth picks downtown Detroit as home [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM's biggest hurdle to recruiting new talent? Finding people to live in Detroit

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM

Believe it or not, there was once a time when Detroit was a hustling and bustling urban metropolis - a desirable city in which to live. Today? Sure, there are some hardcore Detroit supporters, and there are certainly nice areas in and around Detroit to call home, but the truth is that the United States population at large doesn't have Detroit high on its list of places to relocate.

Part of the reason Detroit doesn't make an attractive home is that the city's finances are hardly in order. In fact, as pointed out by The Detroit News, the city is negotiating with the State of Michigan to avoid a takeover of the city. Even though a consent agreement is possible, none of this helps Detroit-based corporations like General Motors lure workers into the city's borders.

Current GM CEO Dan Akerson said in an interview that he hopes his company can contribute to Detroit's revival, but "wouldn't pretend to know what the best solution is." Neither would we. Like Akerson, though, we hope the home of the Big Three gets back on its feet with as much solidity as the automakers seem to have managed.

GM's biggest hurdle to recruiting new talent? Finding people to live in Detroit originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Detroit: Big 3 gearing up for hiring binge

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:59:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Chrysler, Ford, GM, UAW/Unions

Over the last few years, huge numbers of union workers have accepted buyout packages to leave their high-paying jobs at automotive factories and office buildings. Many of those retired workers will be replaced by new hires at much lower salaries in the coming years. In fact, there could be as many as 46,000 new workers hired in Michigan alone, according to a recent 95-page report (PDF link here) released by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). This report could mean good things for the troubled economy surrounding Detroit -- but it's not all roses, as the report indicates that more workers will leave through attrition than the estimated 46,000 that could be hired. Also, all of those new workers will require lots of training before they can be counted on as worthy replacements. Still, as Kristin Dziczek, an analyst from CAR says, "The bleeding will stop."

[Source: CAR via The Car Connection]

Good news for Detroit: Big 3 gearing up for hiring binge originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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