Saab Moving to Detroit

After months of rumors, Saab Automobile's Saab Cars USA confirms the move of its corporate headquarters from Norcross, GA, to parent General Motors Corp.'s world headquarters in the Renaissance Center in Detroit.

The move will take several months, and Saab's new U.S. corporate office should be fully operational by Sept. 7.

Saab says the move will save a significant amount in facilities and other costs such as employee benefits, dealer training, purchasing and accounting administration, vehicle distribution and legal counsel.

There are about 80 employees at Saab's Norcross office. “A good number will be offered to transfer to Detroit,” says a Saab spokesman. “But we don't know the final numbers yet.”

However, some staff members previously have told Ward's they likely would not move from the Atlanta area to Detroit even if they are asked to transfer. “That's definitely going to happen,” admits the Saab spokesman. “Just because of the direction of the move.”

Saab already has relocated its U.S. corporate headquarters once in the last decade or so, from Connecticut to Norcross in the early 1990s.

In a similar move, over the past several months, Saab Automobile and GM Europe have consolidated sales, marketing and engineering operations throughout Europe.