GM to invest $20M in plant

Texas facility to assemble newest models of full-size SUVs

General Motors said Tuesday that it will invest $20 million at a plant in Arlington, Texas, to upgrade conveyors as the company prepares to produce a new generation of full-size SUVs.

GM builds the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and the Cadillac Escalade at the Arlington Assembly plant.

"We've been building trucks in Texas for more than 20 years," said Gerald Johnson, GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing. "We are counting on the Arlington team to continue focusing on building the highest-quality products possible for our customers while preparations continue for the launch of the next generation of our full-size SUVs."

Since 2015, GM has invested more than $1.4 billion in Arlington Assembly to build a new paint shop and upgrade the body shop and general assembly area. Those upgrades will be completed next year, GM said.

The latest investment comes as GM has faced criticism from the United Auto Workers and many politicians, including President Donald Trump, over its decision late last year to cut about 14,000 total jobs and indefinitely idle four plants in the United States and one in Canada.

The investment in Arlington Assembly will not create any additional new jobs there, a GM spokesman said.

Also, GM is not releasing any information on when the next generation of full-size SUVs will start production or go on sale.

In a statement, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes, director of the union's GM department, commended the company's investment in Arlington, saying, "We believe that building a product where you sell it is good for our members, their families, our communities and all of America. We hope to see more investments in the future at other General Motors facilities throughout our country."

The Arlington plant, which opened in 1954, employs 4,500 workers operating on three shifts. GM converted the plant from car to truck production in 1997.

Through a series of purchase agreements for wind power, Arlington Assembly runs entirely on wind energy, earning the plant a spot on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Top 100 list of the largest green-power users.

GM wants to power all of its global facilities with 100% renewable energy by 2050, and it was at 20% of that goal at the end of 2018, the automaker said.

Last year, GM sold about 282,000 full-size SUVs in the United States. GM also exports the full-size SUVs to markets overseas.

GM has made a series of investments at its plants as it prepares to launch its redesigned pickups and SUVs that it says will increase capacity, improve quality and operate efficiently.

In February, GM said it would add 1,000 jobs to its plant in Flint to build a new generation of heavy-duty pickups. Earlier this month, GM said it plans to invest $150 million in the Flint facility. GM is launching the 2020 heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, and it began shipping the vehicles earlier this month to dealers. GM hopes the pickups will help the company get a bigger cut of the booming truck market.

Business on 06/26/2019

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