GM General Motors Company

By Mike Colias

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday ratcheted up pressure on General Motors Co. to invest more in U.S. production, encouraging the nation's largest auto maker to follow the recent investment plans from Detroit rivals.

In his first news conference since winning office, Mr. Trump thanked Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for disclosing plans in recent days to expand factories in the U.S. that would add a combined 2,700 jobs. Those announcements came amid an escalation of Mr. Trump's criticism of car companies for importing vehicles from Mexico.

Mr. Trump cited a "big, big factory...to be built in this country, as opposed to another country," by FCA. The auto maker said Sunday that it would revamp two existing plants in Michigan and Ohio to manufacture trucks and sport-utility vehicles, creating about 2,000 jobs. It didn't say it would build a new facility.

Ford last week scrapped plans for a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and said it would retool a plant near Detroit to make electric cars, creating 700 jobs. Chief executives of both companies said the moves weren't the result of pressure from the president-elect.

"I hope that General Motors will be following. And I think they will be," Mr. Trump said during his news conference. Last week, he criticized GM in a Twitter message for importing small cars from Mexico.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday said there will be "big news" in coming weeks "about companies that are going to be building in the Midwest," declining to name them.

In a statement, GM said it has "more in common than not" with Mr. Trump. "A vibrant U.S. manufacturing base that is competitive globally and that grows jobs is what we all want," GM said.

On Tuesday, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra defended the company's U.S. commitment. GM operates more than 40 factories, employs 100,000 people and invested about $11 billion in the U.S. in the last two years, she said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 11, 2017 13:53 ET (18:53 GMT)

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