$91M in tax breaks for 114 firms OK’d

SACRAMENTO (AP) – A state economic development board on Thursday approved an $8 million tax credit for General Motors as the company looks to expand its autonomous vehicle division in San Francisco.

The GM tax credit was among more than $91 million in California Competes incentives for 114 companies approved at a board meeting in Sacramento of Gov. Jerry Brown’s GO-Biz agency.

The credits range from GM’s $8 million to $20,000 for MinowCPA Corporation, an accounting firm that plans to hire eight people in Newport Beach and Santa Ana.

GM promises to hire 1,163 workers at an average salary of $116,000. San Francisco is the hub for GM’s autonomous vehicle research and development since the company acquired Cruise Automation last year, said Kevin Kelly, a GM spokesman.

The new workers will include software designers, on-street vehi- cle testers and support functions like human resources, he said. The company is testing 50 autonomous vehicles on public roads in San Francisco, the Detroit metro area and Scottsdale, Ariz.

“As autonomous car technology matures, our company’s talent needs will continue to increase,” Cruise Automation CEO Kyle Vogt said in a statement. “Accessing the world-class talent pool that the San Francisco Bay Area offers is one of the many reasons we plan to grow our presence in the state.”

Board member Madeline Janis said she was concerned that GM representatives, attending the meeting by phone, were unable to say how many of the company’s California employees are women. Still, the tax credit was approved unanimously.

The Bay Area has become a leading region for companies looking to build autonomous and alternative-fuel vehicles, including Uber and Tesla.