By John D. Stoll
General Motors Co. on Monday said it would invest $245 million
and add 300 jobs at its Orion Township, Mich., plant that was saved
during the 2009 government bailout of the company, with the money
coming to outfit the factory for the production of an undisclosed
vehicle.
The announcement follows a separate $100-million-plus disclosure
by the company in February for the Orion plant's upcoming
production of the Chevrolet Bolt shortly after GM Chief Executive
Mary Barra unveiled the fully-electric vehicle at the Detroit auto
show. Expected to be priced at around $30,000 and capable of 200
miles of driving on an electric charge, the Bolt will take on a
group of global auto makers planning similar electric cars for the
U.S. market in the 2017 time frame.
GM will build another car and invest more money at the plant in
Orion Township, a northern suburb of Detroit. Six years ago, the
32-year-old plant was the recipient of $1 billion in promised tax
incentives and government grants. Had it not been for the Obama
administration's demand that it stay open as a condition of
billions of dollars in funding, Orion Township's factory would have
been shut down to help shrink GM's capacity in the U.S.
Orion's product mix--composed entirely of small cars--hasn't
fared well in an era of sustained low gasoline prices. GM has
recently been laying workers off at the factory due to market
conditions. The Bolt will enter an electric-vehicle market that is
also performing poorly, but it could be an image booster for the
auto maker, much like the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.
The new investment and jobs announcement comes about one month
before Ms. Barra's management team will start negotiations with the
United Auto Workers union on a new four-year labor pact. UAW
officials said last week they will push for raises for the roughly
140,000 members working at Big 3 auto maker factories in the
U.S.
Jobs announcements from U.S. car companies are typical in the
weeks and months leading up to a new contract.
GM has unleashed a string of U.S. jobs and investment
announcements in 2015 as part of a $5.4 billion investment plan
slated for the next three years. In a news release, GM said it has
announced U.S. facility investment of approximately $17.8 billion
since the 2009 bailout and bankruptcy.
"About $12.4 billion of that has come since the 2011 UAW-GM
National Agreement. In total, these investments have created 6,250
new jobs and secured the positions of approximately 20,700
others."
Write to John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com
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