General Motors said it has decided to
produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle at its Orion Township, Michigan,
assembly plant, shifting gears from its previous plans to build the EV outside
the United States.
Among the factors influencing the decision to produce the new EV domestically, GM noted the Orion plant currently builds the Bolt EV, and the new Chevrolet EV will be based off an advanced version of the same vehicle architecture. The automaker also cited the rules-of-origin provisions in the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
GM noted its $300 million investment in the Orion plant will bring 400 new jobs to the facility.
In November, GM said production will be “unallocated” at five North American facilities that produce slow-selling internal combustion vehicles. In its most recent announcement, GM said it has job opportunities at its Orion plant and other U.S. manufacturing plants “for virtually all U.S. hourly employees impacted by the recent announcement of unallocated plants.”
“For the 2,800 impacted U.S. hourly employees at GM’s unallocated plants, GM has confirmed it has 2,700 openings across its U.S. manufacturing plants,” the automaker said in a March 22 news release. “To date, 1,100 employees have been placed at other GM plants, with several hundred more in the process of being placed in new jobs. In addition, 1,200 of these employees are retirement eligible.”
Other GM manufacturing plants adding jobs include Flint, Michigan; Spring Hill, Tennessee; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Arlington, Texas; and Toledo, Ohio, according to the automaker.
The Orion assembly plant currently builds the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the Chevrolet Sonic and the Cruise AV test vehicles. The plant employs approximately 880 hourly and 130 salaried employees.
