GM has promised to phase out internal combustion (gas-powered) engines by 2035, with a zero-emission, battery electric lineup. Yet the automaker announced today that it is investing $918 million, mostly in gas-powered (V-8) engine production for SUVs and full-size pickups.
The plants:
Flint, Michigan, Engine Operations: $579 million for retooling to assemble GM’s sixth generation of Small Block V-8 gas engines, and related block, crank and head machining. Production on the 3.0L turbo diesel engine will continue during the renovation.
Bay City, Michigan, GPS: $216 million investment for plant preparations to build camshafts, connecting rods and block/head machining to support the Flint V-8 operation.
Defiance, Ohio, Operations: $55 million, including $47 million to reconfigure operations to build V-8 engine block castings. $8 million to build a casting development cell to support future EV strategies.
Rochester, New York, Operations: $68 million, including $12 million for building V-8 intake manifolds and fuel rails to support Flint, and $56 million for the production of battery pack cooling lines for EV production.
The investments will boost GM’s full-size pickup and SUV production “for years to come,” commented Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, in a press release.
UAW President Ray Curry said in a statement that the new investments will benefit its members who work in those plant and acknowledges “that our members will remain a vital part of GM’s future.”
2023 is a big union negotiating year, with both the UAW and its Canadian counterpart, Unifor, negotiating with U.S. automakers GM, Ford and Stellantis on union contracts that expire in September.
Main photo: GM's Flint Engine Operations plant.
