GM to Invest $24m Expanding Full-Size Truck Production

In a sign of the zero-sum times, there are no jobs added with the investment.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is making new changes to its Fort Wayne Assembly plant to increase production of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups – largely crew cab models. However, no new jobs have been created by the latest changes.

Combined sales of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab pickups, which launched in the second half of 2018, were up a claimed 20% in Q1 of 2019 versus a year ago. However, total sales of Silverado and Sierra were off 15%.

In total, GM sales in the first quarter of 2019 were down 7% year-over-year at 665,840 vehicles, with a selling mix of trucks, SUVs and crossovers above 8o%. Management appears to be having trouble adjusting to the market.

GM is projecting another crew cab increase for the second quarter. Customer deliveries of the double-cab models built in Fort Wayne began during the first quarter.

The $24 million will be invested to enhance the plant’s conveyors and other tooling to support the increased production. The work will be completed this summer. With today’s announcement, GM has invested more than $1.2 billion in the plant since 2015.

Since 2009, GM says it has invested $23 billion in U.S. manufacturing – more than one-quarter of every dollar spent by automakers.

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