General Motors anticipates big sales for its midsize SUVs so it will be adding a third shift at its Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant, making it the first time it will run on three shifts since 2017.
The third shift will come online sometime next year, Scott Bell, Chevrolet vice president, told the news media Monday during the reveal of the redesigned 2024 Chevrolet Traverse.
GM presently builds the current generation Traverse and the Buick Enclave at the Lansing Delta facility. The automaker will start building the GMC Acadia SUV and the all-new 2024 Traverse early next year along with the Enclave. GM’s Bell did not provide more specific details on the timing of adding a third shift.
GM’s President of North America Rory Harvey said GM can add the shift because it foresees sales of the midsize SUV segment increasing by 23% over the next five years.
“It’s really in terms of the capacity of the sales volumes that we put forward for these vehicles and if you look at the vehicles we’re going to build at this plant, then we see the momentum building,” Harvey told reporters.
GM did not disclose how many jobs a third shift will add. The automaker currently employs about 2,800 people at the plant, according to its website.
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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.