General Motors announced two plant investments this week, including a $127.4 million investment in powertrain and structural components to support production of new aluminum engine blocks and components at its Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana, creating approximately 127 jobs.
In addition, GM will invest $44 million in its Bowling Green Assembly plant to support increased capacity in its Performance Build Center, adding 36 new jobs. Construction and tool re-arrangement is planned to start in January 2016.
The Bedford plant currently has approximately 700 employees on three shifts and produces transmission casings, converter housings, heads, and small gas engine blocks used in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles.
Including this investment, GM has invested more than $420 million in the Bedford plant since 2010.
Details about timing and where in the plant the money will be invested are yet to be released.
In Kentucky, steady demand for the high-performance Corvette Z06 has prompted the expansion of the Performance Build Center. The Z06, which retails for over $80,000, accounts for nearly a third of all Corvettes now produced at Bowling Green.
The Performance Build Center offers a customization program called Build Your Own Engine, in which customers pay $5,000 to spend a day with an engine assembly technician who instructs and oversees the build, and go home with a photograph and a personalized engine plaque.
Earlier this year, GM announced a $439 million investment in the facility for plant upgrades and a new paint shop. In the past four years, GM has added 316 new jobs and invested $617.5 million in Bowling Green.
So far in 2015, GM has announced more than $6.5 billion in U.S. facility investment, creating approximately 3,370 new jobs.
