With the demand for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks continuing to rise in the United States, General Motors has now announced its additional investment plans for its domestic production facilities.
The Detroit-based automaker revealed this week that it is going to be investing $24 million in its Fort Wayne assembly plant to increase the production of its popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.
Since the two new models were introduced, GM has seen an uptick in sales with a 20 percent increase in the first quarter of this year alone. The upgrades to the plant will mainly be focusing on the increase in production of the crew-cab variants for both pickup models. Despite the substantial investment, the improvements to the plant will unfortunately not entail any new job openings.
GM CEO Mary Barra mentioned in a statement that the investment was mainly driven by the strong sales of its crew cab pickup trucks. This had apparently also led to the decision of introducing more new models and cab choices to expand customer options.
The investment in the Fort Wayne assembly plant will make GM's plans possible thanks to the facility's upgrades that would ramp up production.
Apart from revealing the amount they would be investing in the new plant, GM did not specify any details regarding the amount of increase in the production at Fort Wayne. The facility currently employs around 4,230 workers and it would be difficult to estimate the capacity increase based on just the investment figures.
In response to the new investment in the facility, United Auto Workers praised GM for its continued dedication and commitment to the workers at Fort Wayne. According to the United Auto Workers VP Terry Dittes, GM's investment will ensure job security for everyone at the facility. This is obviously great news for all the workers, their families, and the community in Indiana.
Majority of the money that will be spent at Fort Wayne will reportedly go towards upgrading the plant's conveyor systems. Some of the money will also go into upgrading the tooling at the plant, all of which are aimed at increasing production. Upgrade works and renovations will reportedly be completed this summer.
GM has recently been shifting a lot of its efforts in producing more of its popular models.
The company recently closed a number of North American plants, most of which were producing less-profitable models such as its sub-compact sedans. The company's Lordstown assembly plant in northeast Ohio was the latest one to be shut down. The plant was mainly producing the company's Chevrolet Cruze sedan.
