GM invests $1.3 billion in five U.S. factories

DETROIT – Five General Motors factories in three states will soon share in a $1.3 billion investment so they can make higher-quality pickup trucks and new fuel-efficient engines and transmissions.

GM said the money will go to the Flint, Mich., assembly plant; an engine plant in Romulus, Mich., near Detroit; a transmission factory in Toledo, Ohio; and a casting plant in Bedford, Ind. Most of the work will be done during the next two years.

It’s unclear how many jobs the investment will create. GM would say only that it will create or keep 1,000 positions.

Nearly half the money, $600 million, will go to the Flint factory for a new paint shop and other upgrades. The plant makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

GM also will spend $493 million at its Romulus engine plant so it can build a new V-6 engine and 10-speed automatic transmissions that will make vehicles more efficient.

Around $121 million will go to set up a manufacturing logistics center at the Detroit-Hamtramck factory, and $31 million will go to the Toledo transmission plant so it can crank out more six-speed automatic transmissions.

In addition, the Indiana plant will get $29.2 million to make parts for the 10-speed transmissions and for six-speed transmission components.

The investment continues GM’s momentum in a resurgent auto industry, GM North America President Mark Reuss said in a statement. “More importantly, these investments add up to higher quality and more fuel-efficient vehicles for our customers,” he said.

GM said it has announced more than $10.1 billion in investments in U.S. operations since emerging from bankruptcy protection in 2009.