Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America is moving the “majority” of its work out of Long Beach with up to 72 workers relocating as it shifts operations to Georgia and elsewhere.
The facility’s closure in Long Beach will be permanent by the end of the year, with a combination of layoffs and an unspecified number of people getting moved to other facilities beginning in phases on July 6, wrote Evonne Mitchell, a human resources executive with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development, in a May 7 filing with the state’s Employment Development Department.
The technology center in Long Beach, which has focused on testing and driver-assistance systems and serves as a hub for advanced manufacturing and engineering, has developed nearly 100 technology patents, according to the company.
At the end of December, the German-based automaker said there were 186 employees working in Long Beach.
Neither Mitchell nor a company spokesman responded to questions on the job count disparity.
A company spokesman who asked not to be named said the 72 employees were presented with either a relocation or a severance package, while certain employees were only offered severance packages based on business and operational needs. He declined to comment further.
A year ago, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to make Atlanta as its North America headquarters, paving the way to move some jobs to Georgia from other company locations.
According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, around 500 jobs would be moved from other parts of the U.S. to an already established facility in the northern Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs.
Mitchell wrote in her letter filed with the EDD that workers were offered arrangements to move to Georgia, Michigan, or at another company facility in California — though the “majority of its Long Beach” operations would go to Atlanta.
Mercedes-Benz also operates research facilities in Carlsbad, San Jose, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The 14-year-old Long Beach operation along Via Oro Avenue was the largest of the five research facilities in the U.S. — with 17 workers in Carlsbad, 185 in San Jose, 142 in Farmington Hills and 45 in Ann Arbor.
The jobs listed in the EDD layoff notice include engineers, lawyers, quality assurance testers, technicians and project managers.
The filing was made as part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which is required when an employer lays off more than 50 employees. All affected employees are notified at least 60 days before their terminations are scheduled to occur.
Mercedes-Benz established the center in 2014 when it consolidated its Southern California operations into a former Boeing Co. plane factory.
The auto sector is shifting quickly in Southern California.
After investing billions in electric vehicle development, automakers have been scrambling to regain their footing after the Trump administration eliminated incentives to stimulate growth in the sector. Many of the EV makers are pivoting to hybrids as they reimagine production lines in the U.S., with Georgia becoming a hub for Rivian, Kia and Hyundai and others.
The Irvine-based EV maker Rivian is building a multibillion-dollar manufacturing plant near Stanton Springs in Georgia, where the company has said it will create 7,500 jobs.
Toyota is making significant EV investments through its Toyota Industries Electric Systems North America operation in Pendergrass, Georgia, while Hyundai is expanding its Georgia footprint by investing $21 billion through 2028 to build EVs and other autos.
Last July, the longtime home of Ford Motor Co’s Design Studios in Irvine began shutting down as it shifted work to a new electric vehicle development hub in Long Beach.
The once-secretive skunkworks project has grown into a 350-person team in a 270,000-square-foot facility near the Long Beach Airport.
The company is developing an electric pickup truck scheduled for launch next year.
