General Motors will invest about US$2m in US assembly and component plants, creating or preserving more than 4,000 jobs at 17 facilities in eight states.
Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said: “We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy.This new investment is on top of US$3.4bn and more than 9,000 jobs that GM has added or saved since mid-2009.”
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Akerson said GM would invest US$204m to retain about 250 jobs for a new, advanced eight-speed automatic transmission for future vehicles that offer customers improved fuel economy and outstanding performance.
GM’s US sales through the first four months of the year are up 24.8% over 2010, and the company last week reported its fifth-consecutive profitable quarter since emerging from bankruptcy reorganisation in July 2009.
The first of the new investments – US$131m and about 250 additional jobs in Bowling Green, Kentucky – was announced last week. Plant improvements and installation of new equipment to make the next generation Chevrolet Corvette will begin soon while the current-generation Corvette is assembled for at least the next two model years.
According to the Center for Automotive Research, the ripple effect of the planned investments would add almost US$2.9bn to the US Gross Domestic Product and create or retain more than 28,000 jobs.
More announcements are expected later today. GM last night said it would make “positive business announcements” at an engine plant in Flint and a components plant in Bay City, both in Michigan.
