GM is adding 1,200 new jobs to its Detroit-Hamtramck facility where it builds the Chevy Volt and the coming Cadillac CT6.
This story has been updated to reflect new information on the negotiations with GM.
General Motors plans to add a second shift at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant early next years as it adds production of new Cadillac CT6, the new flagship of the Cadillac Division’s product line.
The addition of 1,200 jobs on a second-shift will nearly double its workforce at the Poletown plant, which now builds several products critical to GM such as the Chevrolet Volt, Impala and Malibu and Cadillac ELR on a single production line. Production of the new Cadillac CT6 is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2016.
The announcement of the addition of the second shift also comes as the United Auto Workers said it will focus on its negotiations with GM next.
“The UAW announced today that it will pursue a contract for UAW-GM members in the next round of Big Three bargaining as negotiations continue at Ford,” the union said in a statement.
The expectations are that in light of GM’s recent earnings announcement and its long-range forecasts of continued profitability that the UAW will seek a better deal than it received from Fiat Chrysler.
The new deal will cover more than 52,500 hourly workers at GM, as well as any new workers hired to staff the second shift.
The addition of a second shift will increase the plant’s workforce to approximately 2,800 people when hiring is completed. The second shift is necessary to meet predicted market demand for the five cars produced at Detroit-Hamtramck, GM officials said.
Expected demand for the Cadillac CT6 and other vehicles pushed GM to hire 1,200 new people for its Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
“This is the result of the award-winning vehicles Detroit-Hamtramck produces and the confidence GM has in our team to build world-class quality for our customers,” said Plant Manager Gary West.
Second shift hiring is underway, and the shift is scheduled to begin operations in early 2016.
“The workforce at Detroit-Hamtramck is second to none,” said UAW Local 22 Shop Chairman Don LaForest. “We appreciate the opportunity to expand our UAW-GM family.”
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The 4.1 million-square-foot Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly opened in 1985. GM has invested $1 billion in the plant over the last six years, making it one of the company’s most-agile manufacturing facilities in North America. The plant begins production of the Cadillac CT6 in early 2016.
Over the past year, GM has invested, more than $5 billion, in new plants and equipment at production plants across the United States.
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The impact that hiring an additional 1,200 workers may have on the talks between the two sides is difficult to assess. Fiat Chrysler and the UAW just got the approval for its next contract, but it took two rounds of talks – the first deal was trounced in a vote by the rank-and-file – get it done.
Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, recently predicted that the upcoming discussions should net a deal that is equitable to both sides.
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“We haven’t started our negotiations at this level yet, and when we get there, we’re going to work and do the same creative problem solving that we’ve done day in and day out, and work to have an agreement that’s good for the company and maintains our competitiveness — and does the right things for the institution and for our workers,” Barra said to the Detroit News.