Fresh off of posting its most profitable quarter in more than a decade—reporting a net income of $3.2 billion through the first three months of 2011—General Motors is now putting that money back to work, recently announcing it would invest nearly $2 billion to support its U.S. manufacturing operations. The move is expected to create or preserve more than 4,000 jobs in 17 facilities across eight states.
“We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy,” according to GM CEO Dan Akerson, who added that, “This new investment is on top of $3.4 billion and more than 9,000 jobs that GM has added or saved since mid-2009.”
The investment program kicked off earlier this year when GM announced it would invest $131 million to prepare the long-time home of the Chevrolet Corvette, the automaker’s plant in Bowling Green, Ky., for the next generation of America’s iconic supercar. Also part of the package: An additional 250 jobs at the facility. Following this, Akerson and GM visited the company’s transmission plant in Toledo, Ohio, to announce a $204 million investment that will be used to retain 250 jobs for assembly of an all-new eight-speed automatic transmission destined for future GM vehicles.
All told, according to the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research, the investments from GM would lead to a ripple effect that adds almost $2.9 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product, while also creating or retaining more than 28,000 jobs.
And it represents an important milestone for organized labor, too.
“The UAW’s goal has been to return all laid-off workers to active status and see the company begin hiring again,” said Joe Ashton, UAW vice president—GM Department. “These announcements will create and retain thousands of jobs and bring General Motors back to full employment of our hourly workforce.”
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