UPDATE | Union leaders excited for GM investment

LORDSTOWN

Union leaders were happy to see General Motors major U.S. investment announcement this morning.

“Any time you hear that a company is going to invest money it is something to be excited about,” said Robert Morales, United Auto Workers Local 1714 president, who represents the fabrication plant workers at GM Lordstown Assembly. “It builds our economy.”

General Motors today announced that it will invest an additional $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing operations. The new investments cover multiple new vehicle, advanced technology and component projects. A combination of 1,500 new and retained jobs are tied to the new investments. Details of individual projects will be announced throughout the year.

The announcement comes during the week the GM Lordstown Assembly Plant will lose its third shift because of a trend away from small cars, like the Chevrolet Cruze built at Lordstown.

“We at Lordstown are focused on our benchmarks that are set by our corporation,” Morales said. “We are working on those and heading in the right direction.”

Following reports on Monday that General Motors would announce a major U.S. investment, today the automaker has announced it will invest an additional $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing operations. These investments follow $2.9 billion announced in 2016 and more than $21 billion GM has invested in its U.S. operations since 2009.

The new investments cover multiple new vehicle, advanced technology and component projects. A combination of 1,500 new and retained jobs are tied to the new investments. Details of individual projects will be announced throughout the year.

The company also announced it will begin work on insourcing axle production for its next generation full-size pickup trucks, including work previously done in Mexico, to operations in Michigan, creating 450 U.S. jobs.

GM said it has reached out to its suppliers to invest in the U.S. The company has been executing a strategy to create supplier parks adjacent to its U.S. manufacturing sites. GM says this has already been accomplished at its Lordstown Assembly Plant, the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas, Spring Hill Assembly Plant in Tennessee and the Fort Wayne Assembly Plant in Indiana.