Dive Brief:
- General Motors plans to pour over $1 billion into two of its facilities in Flint, Michigan, to prepare them for production of its next generation, gas-powered heavy-duty trucks.
- The majority of the investment, $788 million, will be used to expand assembly operations and upgrade equipment to build the next-gen trucks, according to a release. Another $233 million will go towards new stamping dies and equipment to support production.
- GM is investing in the popular trucks, which saw a 38% sales increase YoY in 2022, in part to demonstrate commitment to employees at its Flint Assembly and Flint Metal Center, EVP of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability Gerald Johnson said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
GM’s Flint investments come ahead of contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, where securing jobs will be a top priority. The UAW-GM contract is set to expire Sept. 14.
“When business is booming as it has been for the past decade — due to the hard work of UAW members — the company should continue to invest in its workforce,” Mike Booth, UAW VP of the GM department, said in a statement regarding the investments.
UAW leaders outlined top issues for upcoming negotiations with automakers’ GM, Stellantis and Ford, during a virtual town hall last week, which included job security amid recent plant closures and an industry in-transition to electric vehicles.
“We’ve seen a number of gut-wrenching plant closures over the last years. There’s Ford’s Romeo Engine plant in Michigan, GM Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio and the Stellantis Belvidere Assembly plant in Illinois, and that’s just to name a few,” Booth said at the event.
He added that as dozens of plants are being built across the country to support EV transition, it must be a “just transition” where “workers aren’t left behind.”
In January, GM invested $918 million in four U.S. manufacturing sites to provide nearly 2,400 workers with job security.
