GM is investing $27 million into its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant to build vehicles for Australia.
General Motors continues to use its checkbook, announcing it is investing $47 million into two plants in Tennessee and Michigan. The moves are part of a $1 billion investment plan announced earlier this year.
The company will spend $27 million at its former Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee to prep the facility to build right-hand-drive SUVs. Called the Holden Acadia, they’ll be exported to Australia. GM is phasing out vehicle manufacturing down under as part of a consolidation plan.
The plant, which also makes the Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia, employs about 4,000 people work at the plant located about 35 miles south of Nashville that makes the Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia crossovers.
Last fall, GM added a third shift and 650 jobs to its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant to increase production of the Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia.
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The announcements boosting GM’s production capacity also reflect the apparent optimism of GM’s senior management, which believes sales of utility vehicles will remain steady and provide automaker with ample room to grow sales.
GM has invested more than $2 billion in investment for the facility in the last six years, including a $148 million investment to reuse machining and assembly equipment to build 6.2-liter V-8 engines for trucks. The facility expanded its engine plant – bringing an additional 800 jobs – as part of a $789 million investment announced last April.
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The company is also spending $20 million on machining operations for future engine programs at its Bay City, Michigan, powertrain facility. Employing about 380 people, the site produces parts used in in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles.
Last spring, the company announced a plan to spend $118 million at the Bay City Powertrain facility, creating 29 and retaining 67 jobs. The plant is one of GM’s older sites in North America.
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The plant opened in 1892 as National Cycle Manufacturing Co. and produced a new bicycle to replace old high-wheeled types. In 1916, William Durant and Louis Chevrolet bought the plant and the plant was added to the General Motors portfolio in 1918. With this investment, GM has invested or will invest $249.4 million in Bay City Powertrain since 2010.