Kawasaki factory in Yonkers to build MTA subway cars

More jobs are heading to the Hudson Valley thanks to a major deal between Kawasaki and the MTA.
The MTA board voted Wednesday morning to approve a $1.4 billion contract with the Japanese company.
The contract calls for a base order of 535 subway cars, many of which will be worked on at the Kawasaki factory in Yonkers.
If the first batch of train cars perform well, there is the option to purchase more than 1,000 additional cars. That would bring the total Kawasaki contract to more than $3.6 billion.
Workers at the Yonkers facility say that the contract pretty much guarantees job security for the foreseeable future.
City of Yonkers officials say it would be game-changer, with the amount of jobs that would be created and tax revenue generated.
Mayor Mike Spano says the billion-dollar Kawasaki contract will likely attract other businesses to the city.
"When you have a huge manufacturer coming into Yonkers, that is here doing business in Yonkers, the workforce is tremendous. Other manufacturers will see this and they'll want to come here," he says.
The subway cars will be built in Yonkers and at Kawasaki's other factory in Nebraska.
The new train cars are expected to be finished in the summer of 2020.