BMW announced yesterday that it will invest $1 billion which will add 800 jobs and increase vehicle production from 300,000 per year to 450,000. Studies show that for 1 job added at BMW an additional 3 jobs are added elsewhere in South Carolina.
The positive impact over the next twenty years of BMW’s new $1 billion investment cannot be overstated. BMW’s highly sought after automobiles reflect the ingenuity of our neighbors here in Greer who work with the best automotive engineers in the world.
BMW’s announcement combined with the recently completed Inland Port greatly enhances Greer as a major manufacturing hub which will continue to attract future business. The citizens of Greer and the Upstate will benefit from increased job opportunities and a higher standard of living.
However, we must not rest on our current success. We must remember that increased funding to technical education and infrastructure twenty years ago played a large role in the construction of the Inland Port and BMW’s ability to expand today. If we want to celebrate another major BMW expansion in 2034, we must recommit ourselves to advancing our technical educational system and most importantly, finding new revenue streams to renew our deteriorating road system.