GM is revitalizing a factory that was on the brink of closing to build a new generation of electric and self-driving vehicles (GM)

Cruise

  • GM will invest $3 billion into its Detroit-Hamtramck plant in order to build electric and self-driving vehicles.
  • The factory had previously been "unallocated" as GM shifted from sedan production to pickups and SUVs. 
  • The company said that Detroit-Hamtramck could provide 2,200 "good paying" manufacturing jobs when running full speed.
  • GM aims to launch 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023 and to commercialize a fully autonomous ride-sharing service.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.


General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck factory was on the verge of shutting down a year ago when the carmaker announced that it would be "unallocated" of future manufacturing product. 

But the plant, which has been been around since the 1980s, and whose history dates back to the 1910s, received a fresh lease on life Monday when GM revealed that it would be the center of the company's electric-vehicle plans.

GM intends to invest a total of $3 billion in the plant, which, according to the automaker, would have 2,200 "good paying" manufacturing jobs once it's at full strength. (Hamtramck now builds a pair of slow-selling sedans from Cadillac and Chevy, and is running a single shift with 900 workers on the job).

The plant will be idled in February to be refitted for EV manufacturing, GM said.

"Through this investment, GM is taking a big step forward in making our vision of an all-electric future a reality," GM President Mark Reuss said in a statement. "Our electric pickup will be the first of multiple electric truck variants we will build at Detroit-Hamtramck over the next few years."

Keeping manufacturing in Michigan

GM also announced that batteries for the vehicles assembled at Hamtramck would come from a new plant in Ohio, a joint venture between GM and LG Chem. (Located in the Lordstown area, the new factory is near another GM factory that was unallocated and that became a bargaining issue during the lengthy United Auto Workers strike last year.)

In addition to electric pickups and SUVs, the plan is for the revived Hamtramck to build the Cruise Origin, a fully self-driving vehicle that GM's self-driving arm, Cruise, unveiled in San Francisco last week.

Appearing at the factory with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Reuss credited the state's commitment to US manufacturing.

"The support from the state of Michigan was a key element in making this investment possible," he said. "This investment helps ensure that Michigan will remain at the epicenter of the global automotive industry as we continue our journey to an electrified future."

GM has ambitious electric and self-driving objectives. The company plans to launch 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023, and with Cruise, hopes to roll out a completely autonomous ride-sharing and ride-hailing service in San Francisco in the coming years.

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