General Motors
2020 Corvette

GM Adds Second Shift at Bowling Green Corvette Plant

April 26, 2019
The automaker plans to hire 400 more workers to produce the 2020 model.

With its car sales lagging (and pickups doing the heavy lifting), General Motors is looking to its iconic muscle car to beef up its bottom line.

The automaker announced yesterday that it will expand operations at its Bowling Green, Kentucky, assembly plant to support production of the latest Corvette iteration—the 2020 Corvette C8. GM will add a second shift and upwards of 400 hourly jobs. The plant currently has about 900 hourly workers.

The Bowling Green plant has exclusively produced Corvettes since 1981. The Corvette “owes so much to the men and women of Bowling Green, where it has been built exclusively for almost 40 years,” GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “This is the workforce that can deliver a next-generation Corvette worthy of both its historic past and an equally exciting future.”

GM has invested nearly $500 million in the facility since 2015, upgrading the paint shop, shipyard and utilities and increasing engine capacity.  

The new jobs are a fraction of the more than 3,000 union jobs lost at four General Motors plants in the U.S., which have closed or are set to close this year. Workers at the closed plants, in many cases, were offered a placement another GM plant and a $3,000 relocation stipend.

United Autoworkers Vice President Terry Dittes said in a statement that the union was pleased with the addition of 400 union jobs at the Bowling Green plant, adding that “we hope to see more of this in the future from GM, which is good for our members, their families, the community, and all of America.”

No word on whether laid-off workers at four recently closed General Motors plants would be eligible for relocation to the Bowling Green plant.

About the Author

Laura Putre | Senior Editor, IndustryWeek

As senior editor, Laura Putre works with IndustryWeek's editorial contributors and reports on leadership and the automotive industry as they relate to manufacturing. She joined IndustryWeek in 2015 as a staff writer covering workforce issues. 

Prior to IndustryWeek, Laura reported on the healthcare industry and covered local news. She was the editor of the Chicago Journal and a staff writer for Cleveland Scene. Her national bylines include The Guardian, Slate, Pacific-Standard and The Root. 

Laura was a National Press Foundation fellow in 2022.

Got a story idea? Reach out to Laura at [email protected]

 

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