In the face of layoffs connected to lagging small car sales, General Motors announced Monday it is adding 300 jobs at its Orion Assembly Plant north of Detroit.
It’s part of a US$245 million investment there that will go toward launching an all-new vehicle program there.
The investment follows reports earlier this month that GM is laying off 100 workers at the Orion plant beginning this summer amid slow sales for its smaller cars, as well as plans to begin production of the all-new, Chevrolet Bolt electric car.
GM currently produces the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Sonic at the Orion plant, which employs about 1,600 hourly workers and 200 salaried ones.
In the first five months of this year, sales of the Buick Verano dropped 16 % on an annual basis to 15,279 units. During that same period, sales of the Chevrolet Sonic fell 29 % to 29,082 units.
In November, GM confirmed it was laying off 160 workers at the Orion site because of slow sales of the smaller cars. Lower fuel prices have been pushing many consumers toward SUVs, trucks and other larger vehicles.
Nevertheless, GM is moving forward with plans to build the Chevy Bolt EV, which it unveiled as a concept in at the Detroit auto show last January, and then announced a month later in Chicago that a production version will be built at the Orion plant.
GM said it is investing US$160 million to launch the Bolt. The automaker has described the electric car as an affordable entry – likely priced in the US$30,000 range – that can achieve more than 200 miles on a single electric charge.
In total, GM said it has now invested US$962 million at the 32-year-old Orion plant over the past five years.
Monday’s announced investment is part of US$5.4 billion GM said it plans to put into its U.S. plants over the next three years. The automaker announced last month that that total includes US$783.5 million at three facilities in Michigan: the Pontiac Metal Center, the Lansing Delta Township plant, and the Pre-Production Operations site in Warren.
GM has so far identified US$3.1 billion of that investment, and plans to announce another US$2.3 billion by the end of the year.
Source: Mlive.com