Conyers Insists GM Should Remain in Detroit

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), issued the following statement regarding the prospect that GM could move its headquarters to Warren, Michigan as part of its restructuring plan in a likely June 1st Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

"With staggering unemployment rates, a plummeting housing market, and a troubled auto industry, the city of Detroit has been ground zero for the nation’s recession. The prospect that General Motors might move its headquarters from the downtown Renaissance Center to the Warren Tech Center two miles north of city limits would be a big blow to Detroit.

"I have reached out to President Obama expressing my grave concern for the impact this move would have on Detroit. General Motors has been headquartered in Detroit since 1923. GM’s presence in the glass towers of the Renaissance Center is a source of pride for the city’s residents. The president and GM corporate leadership must seriously consider how this proposed move would impact the economy of a city devastated by recession. With GM receiving billions of dollars from federal coffers, and little, if any, finding its way down to workers, now is not the time to cripple the country’s most vulnerable community."