Christal Finklea-Vancourt dresses an engine for a Chevrolet Sonic at Orion Assembly. The line side delivery process for parts was recently re-designed to be more efficient.
General Motors said today it would invest another $245 million and add 300 new jobs at its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan to support launching an all-new unnamed vehicle in the 32-year old facility. Investment in Orion now totals $962 million since the UAW and GM worked together to reopen the previously idled plant in 2010.
Since June 2009, GM has announced U.S. facility investments of approximately $17.8 billion.
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. The 2011 UAW-GM National Agreement is up for renewal by this September, with the two-tier wage system a major potential point of contention between the Detroit Three and the UAW.
The latest GM move comes just seven months after the announcement of a $160-million investment to launch Chevrolet’s Bolt EV that is expected to have more than 200 miles of range on a single electric charge.
Today’s announcement is a part of the $5.4 billion GM has announced it will invest in U.S. manufacturing over the next three years. Approximately $3.1 billion of the $5.4 billion has been identified, leaving $2.3 billion to be announced by year-end.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
