General Motors is investing $2.2 billion in its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant to make it a state-of-the-art facility building electric and self-driving cars.
The automaker said Monday the plant will provide 2,200 jobs as it shifts to become the company’s first all-electric vehicle plant.
Detroit-Hamtramck will start production of an all-electric pickup in late 2021, then build the Cruise Origin, an all-electric self-driving car.
“This will be General Motors’ most technically advanced assembly plant,” GM President Mark Reuss said in a news conference at the facility. “That’s really amazing.”
For now, the plant is set to idle for retooling on Feb. 28, meaning about 800 hourly workers could be laid off or transferred. Union leaders have set up informational meetings with members to discuss their futures starting Tuesday.
Electric and autonomous
Cruise, GM’s self-driving arm in San Francisco, unveiled the autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or gas pedal last week. The car will be used in ride-sharing fleets and be powered on an all-electric platform that GM will build.
GM currently assembles the electric Chevrolet Bolts used by Cruise at Orion Assembly plant in Lake Orion.
Auto industry experts have said it could be a long time before electric and autonomous vehicles occupy the roads in any meaningful capacity, arguing that among other hurdles there is a lack of infrastructure to support them. But Reuss said GM can’t afford to wait for that day, because when EV adoption does proliferate, it will do so quickly.
“We have to plan for that adoption and that EV portfolio to become standard now,” Reuss said.
Reuss said he can’t guarantee that GM will be first to market with a fully electric pickup, but, “The electric pickup we will build here will be the best player on the field. … It will be scalable and designed to be used with multiple brands and for multiple types of customers with different needs. Our electric pickup will do everything a pickup customer will want it to do.”
Last November, GM said it would close four U.S. plants, including Detroit-Hamtramck. But after a 40-day nationwide strike by the UAW, GM pledged to invest $3 billion to retool Detroit-Hamtramck to build electric vehicles. On Monday, GM said it will put another $800 million toward supplier tooling and other projects related to new electric trucks.
UAW Vice President Terry Dittes welcomed Monday’s news, calling the announcement “a testament to the perseverance of our UAW members and UAW Region 1 under the direction of Frank Stuglin. Over 2,200 jobs and a new technology product will deliver job security and a bright economic future for UAW members for decades to come at Hamtramck.”
For now, the plant is operating on an extension to produce the Cadillac CT6 and Chevrolet Impala. But by the end of next month, it will idle for up to 18 months for retooling.
GM’s plans to build the new group of premium electric vehicles at Detroit-Hamtramck beginning next year include reviving the long-gone Hummer name on a new pickup, the Free Press has previously reported.
GM also will be the first full-line car manufacturer to fully integrate and manufacture battery cells, Reuss said.
“We are truly building the future today and we’re doing it in our hometown in our home state just up the road from our world headquarters. We are committed to make sure Michigan remains at the epicenter of the auto industry,” Reuss said.
He said GM is committed to the U.S. manufacturing, too, having invested about $24 billion in U.S. plants since 2009. However, the UAW has taken issue with GM also investing billions in Mexico and opting to give production of the new Chevrolet Blazer SUV to its facility in Mexico rather than a U.S. plant.
There have been other recent commitments to auto jobs in Michigan. Last July, Dakkota Integrated Systems said it would build a $55 million facility in Detroit that will create about 600 jobs. The 600,000-square-foot manufacturing plant would be on a 32-acre east-side site to supply parts to Fiat Chrysler facilities.
Worker impact
In December, GM said it would lay off 814 hourly and salaried workers at Detroit-Hamtramck starting Feb. 28. GM provided notice of the layoffs in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing with the state.
UAW leaders say GM has suggested the workers could be transferred to its Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana or Flint Assembly. GM builds its high-volume pickups at both factories.
“Any future people movement at Detroit-Hamtramck would be determined by the terms of the UAW national contract,” said GM spokesman Dan Flores on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Local 22 UAW that represents the hourly workers at Detroit-Hamtramck has started preparing for disruption at the plant.
A person familiar with the local UAW’s plans said this week, starting Tuesday and running through the following Monday, union leaders will hold meetings at the end of the day shift with hourly workers.
The meetings are to inform workers about benefits and pending transfers when the plant idles next month, the person said.
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.
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