By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – State and local officials touted teamwork Monday as DaimlerChrysler announced it would invest up to a billion dollars at its two plants in Fenton.
The city of Fenton offered the company a tax abatement that could be worth up to 46 million dollars.
And the state is offering 32-million dollars over several years, half of it through job training and half through a building incentive program.
Governor Matt Blunt says it's worth it.
If someone told you will give you $32 million, half of that goes into improving the skills and abilities of our workers, and you get $1 billion investment in return, I think that's a pretty good deal, Blunt said.
The governor says recent legislation on workers compensation and liability caps were even more important in attracting the investment.
Chrysler will invest $531 million over the next four years, mostly at the South assembly plant. The company could invest another $500 million in five to seven years.