Washington DC - General Motors is to invest an additional $1 billion (R13.5) in its
US factories in 2017 and will move some parts production from
Mexico to the United States that was previously handled by a
supplier.
The investments are in addition to the $2.9 billion (R39 billion) it announced in 2016, GM said.
GM and other automakers have been sharply criticized by president-elect Donald Trump for building
vehicles in Mexico that are imported into the United States. The Detroit carmaker said the $1 billion investment would create or retain
1500 jobs; details of individual
projects will be announced throughout the year.
"Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the
big jobs push back into the US," Trump tweeted, referring as
well to Wal-Mart's announcement that it would hire 10 000 US workers in 2017.
GM also said it would ill begin work on bringing axle production
for its next generation of full-size pickup trucks, including
work previously done in Mexico, to operations in Michigan,
creating 450 US jobs. These components were previously built by American Axle &
Manufacturing. GM also said an unnamed supplier had committed to make components for GM's next-generation full-size pickup trucks in Michigan, moving 100 supplier jobs from Mexico to the United States.
New jobs
GM spokeswoman Joanne Krell said the automaker planned to
add 7000 new US jobs over the next two to three years, including the 450 jobs on axle production, 1500 jobs tied to the $1 billion announcement and more than 5000 new jobs tied to engineering, GM Financial and advanced technology. Krell
said the decisions being announced "had been in the works for
some time" but she added "the timing was good for us to share
what we are doing".
In 2014 GM announced it was investing $5 billion (R68 billion) in Mexico
and doubling production capacity by 2018. GM said last week it
had no plans to cancel Mexican investments despite Trump
pressure.
GM said it had added about 6000 US jobs, consisting of
4000 hourly and 2000 salaried positions, since the end of 2015
for a total American workforce of 103 000.
Since GM's bankruptcy restructuring in 2009, when it had
77 000 US employees, it has added more than 25 000 jobs as it
boosted production, acquired an auto finance company and brought
information technology work in-house.
Getting it wrong
Trump, who made bringing back manufacturing to the United
States a large part of his successful election campaign, has
been inaccurate in describing some US auto
investments, wrongly saying last week that Fiat Chrysler
was planning to build a new factory in the
United States. The company announced it was investing $1 billion (R13.5) in two existing plants, adding 2000 jobs.
On 3 January Trump threatened to impose a "big border tax" on
GM for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze models in Mexico -
and has extended that threat to German automakers such as BMW, as well as Toyota over building vehicles
abroad for sale in the US.
Separately, Hyundai said on Tuesday it plans to boost US investment by 50 percent to $3.1
billion (R42 billion) over five years and may build a new plant in the United
States. Hyundai and sister brand Kia, have not
been directly criticised by Trump but may feel vulnerable because among major brands, they have one of the
lowest ratios of cars built in the United States to cars sold.
Job cuts
But even as GM invests in US plants, it has also been
making job cuts. In recent months, the company announced plans
to lay off about 3300 employees at three factories.
It said in November it would cut about 2000 jobs when it
ends the third shift at its Lordstown, Ohio, and Lansing,
Michigan, plants in January. In December it said it planned to
cancel the second shift and cut nearly 1300 jobs from its
Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in March.