General Motors to invest $2 billion in U.S. plants, creating 4,000 jobs

General Motors to invest $2 billion in U.S. plants, creating 4,000 jobs

2011-05-11 04:54:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOLEDO, OHIO (BNO NEWS) -- General Motors Co. (GM) announced on Tuesday that it will invest about $2 billion in U.S. assembly and component plants, creating or preserving more than 4,000 jobs at 17 facilities in eight states.

The first of the new investments - $131 million 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 also begin soon while the current-generation Corvette is assembled for at least the next two model years.

In addition, GM announced that over the next few months, it will make specific facility investment announcements dependent on successful completion of state and local incentives in some communities. According to the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research, the ripple effect of the planned investments would add almost $2.9 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and create or retain more than 28,000 jobs.

"We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy," GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said during an event at the 54-year-old Toledo Transmission Plant. "This new investment is on top of $3.4 billion and more than 9,000 jobs that GM has added or saved since mid-2009."

With Ohio Governor John Kasich, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and Toledo Mayor Michael Bell in the audience, Akerson said GM would invest $204 million to retain about 250 jobs for an all-new, advanced 8-speed automatic transmission for future vehicles that offer customers improved fuel economy and outstanding performance.

GM's U.S. sales through the first four months of the year are up 24.8 percent over 2010, and the company last week reported its fifth-consecutive profitable quarter since emerging from bankruptcy reorganization in July 2009.

With its global headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, GM employs 202,000 people worldwide and does business in more than 120 countries.

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