SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A state economic development board on Thursday will consider 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 is among more than $91 million in incentives for 114 companies scheduled for consideration 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 vehicle testers and support functions like human resources, he said.
"We think that being in San Francisco is critically important because the complexity of what you experience as a driver in that city helps us to better prepare the technology for when we're ready to launch," said Kevin Kelly, a GM spokesman.
The company is testing 50 autonomous vehicles on public roads in San Francisco, the Detroit metro area and Scottsdale, Arizona, Kelly said.
The Bay Area has become a leading region for companies looking to build autonomous and alternative-fuel vehicles, including Uber and Tesla.
Electric-bus manufacturer Proterra Inc. is seeking $7.5 million in exchange for hiring 432 people in Burlingame near San Francisco International Airport and in the city of Industry east of Los Angeles.
Several technology companies are in line for tax breaks, including the online streaming service Hulu which is seeking $4.3 million in exchange for adding 410 workers in San Francisco, Santa Monica and Novato. Other tech companies seeking at least $1 million in tax breaks include education site Course Hero, coupon service Honey Science Corporation, construction software maker Procore Technologies and ServiceTitan.
Renovate America Inc., an energy efficiency consulting service, is seeking $5.5 million to hire 542 people in San Diego County and San Francisco.