In its fourth investment announcement this month, General Motors said Monday it will spend $632 million on Fort Wayne Assembly to upgrade the plant to build future gasoline-powered full-size light-duty pickups.
GM builds the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pickups at Fort Wayne. The trucks are big sellers that deliver fat profits, which are key to funding GM’s transformation to all electric vehicles by 2035.
“This investment reflects our commitment to our loyal truck customers and the hard work of the dedicated FortWayne team,” said Gerald Johnson, executive vice president, Global Manufacturing and Sustainability, in a statement.
GM also makes the light-duty and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado at Oshawa Assembly in Ontario, where GM said it will invest CA$280 million ($208 million in U.S. dollars) to upgrade that plant to build next generation full-size gasoline-powered pickups too.
GM also said last week that it will invest $1 billion in Flint Assembly and Flint Metal Center to build the next generation of the automaker’s gasoline-burning heavy-duty pickups and it will invest $500 million in its Arlington Assembly plant in Texas to upgrade the facility to build the next generation of full-size gasoline-powered SUVs.
GM is not releasing any product details or timing of its future trucks at this time. The money will pay for new conveyors, tooling and equipment in the plant’s body and general assembly areas, GM said in a statement.
“When business is booming as it has been for the past decade — due to the hard work of UAW members —the company should continue to invest in its workforce,” Mike Booth, UAW vice president of the GMdepartment, said in a statement.
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.