Adient announces plans to establish Detroit global headquarters bringing 500 jobs to the city

DETROIT, Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Adient (NYSE: ADNT), the world's largest global automotive seating supplier, today announced the company has acquired the 10-story, 164,000-square-foot Marquette Building located at 243 West Congress in Detroit's historic financial district, across from Cobo Center.

The company will invest approximately $50 million into renovating the building to establish its global headquarters and bring roughly 500 jobs to the city of Detroit, of which approximately 100 will be newly created. Adient will work with the city to fill as many of those jobs as possible with Detroit residents.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) CEO Steve Arwood and Adient Chairman and CEO R. Bruce McDonald announced the plan at a joint press conference. They were joined by MEDC leadership, Detroit City Council members, Adient employees, local elected representatives and business leaders.

Adient debuted as an independent, publicly traded company after its separation from Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls on Oct. 31. 

"Adient's decision to choose Detroit from among a large field of competitors to base its global headquarters is another major vote of confidence in where we are headed as a city," said Mayor Mike Duggan.

Adient is the first Fortune 500 Company to establish headquarters in Michigan since Borg Warner moved from Chicago to Auburn Hills in 2003.

"We are excited to be a part of the growth occurring in the City of Detroit," said McDonald. "It's only fitting that we locate Adient's global headquarters in the Motor City, and we have to thank the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan for the opportunity. Not only will we be bringing 500 jobs to downtown, we will also bring our history and commitment to supporting and partnering with communities where we operate.  We are committed to being a good neighbor, a good corporate citizen and a vital part of the community."  

Adient's Detroit presence is expected to generate approximately $17.2 million in income and property tax revenue for the city over the next 12 years. 

For selecting Michigan as the site of its global headquarters, Adient will receive approximately $2 million from the Michigan Business Development Program for new job creation. The company looked at 40 potential sites within and outside of Michigan for its headquarters and ultimately selected the Marquette Building. In the coming weeks, a proposal will be sent to the City Council on a package of city incentives expected to include property tax abatements and brownfield tax credits.  

"Adient's decision to locate its global headquarters in Detroit is both strategic and symbolic. We welcome Adient and appreciate their long-term commitment to the economic viability of Detroit and to being a key player in the automotive industry in Michigan, where they become part of a manufacturing and R&D community that is transforming the future of the auto industry and transportation around the world," said Steve Arwood, MEDC CEO.

"We are going to undertake a complete renovation of the Marquette Building while preserving and honoring its place in the history of Detroit," said Adient Chief Human Resources Officer Neil Marchuk. "Our employees, customers and suppliers will have a world-class facility to work in and visit, complete with collaborative work spaces, a product showroom, fitness center, food services, rooftop terrace and technologically efficient work spaces."

Adient will be consolidating corporate functions from various Michigan locations to the downtown Detroit building once renovations are completed in approximately 24 months.  In addition to the Detroit investment, Adient intends to refurbish its technology and engineering center in Plymouth, Mich.

"We are launching a 3- to 4-year project to completely restructure our Plymouth Technology Center," said Marchuk. "Plans include creating agile team spaces that promote collaboration among internal teams, customers and suppliers."

The company is still determining the required level of investment for its Plymouth facility.

About Adient:
Adient is a global leader in automotive seating. With 75,000 employees operating 230 manufacturing/assembly plants in 33 countries worldwide, we produce and deliver automotive seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every step of the automotive seat-making process. Our integrated, in-house skills allow us to take our products from research and design all the way to engineering and manufacturing – and into more than 25 million vehicles every year. To learn more, please visit adient.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Adient plc has made statements in this document that are, or could be, deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and therefore subject to risk and uncertainties, including statements regarding Adient's future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, capital expenditures or debt levels and plans, objectives, outlook, targets, guidance or goals.  Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "forecast," "project" or "plan" or terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Adient cautions that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond Adient's control, that could cause Adient's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: the impact of the spin-off on Adient's businesses, competitive responses to the spin-off, general economic and business conditions, the strength of the U.S. or other economies, automotive vehicle production levels, mix and schedules, energy and commodity prices, Adient's relationships with its customers and suppliers, the availability of raw materials and component products, currency exchange rates and other factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Adient's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 filed with the SEC on November 29, 2016 and available at www.sec.gov.  The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this document and, except as required by law, Adient assumes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this document.

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