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General Motors on Friday announced a substantial new investment in a Michigan plant that underscores its commitment to build vehicles and create jobs in the United States.
President Trump has criticized GM all week for closing a large factory in Lordstown, Ohio, with the loss of about 5,400 jobs. GM's announcement Friday was designed to appease Trump, but the investment is not a direct result of his pressure, according to two people close to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to comment publicly.
Car manufacturers spend years developing plans to know which vehicles to build and where. They have to negotiate with many details with the United Automobile Workers Union, state and local governments. So it's impossible to roll out anything in a matter of days, as Trump asked during a phone call with GM GM Mary Barra on Sunday.
GM is injecting $ 300 million into its Orion Assembly plant located in the suburbs of Detroit for the construction of a new electric car. The company did not reveal details about the car, but said that 400 jobs would be added to the Orion plant, which already manufactures the electric Chevy Bolt and an autonomous vehicle.
Barra, wearing safety glasses, spoke Friday at the Orion factory alongside UAW leaders and workers. She said that the expansion in Michigan was part of a $ 1.8 billion investment in the United States. About $ 1.4 billion represents funds that were not previously announced.
The national investment follows the announcement this week of the $ 2.7 billion expenditure by GM to expand production in Brazil.
Automotive industry experts say GM's contract with the UAW will expire in September, and that it is typical of major automakers to announce major new investments at this time, as companies and the union agree on details of compensation and production for the next few years.
In the spring of 2015, GM announced additional investments of $ 2 billion, according to the Center for Automotive Research, but many details about the factories that would receive this money only came out after the finalization of the collective agreement.
"We are probably looking at two or three years of discussions for GM to get to that point so we can make the announcement on Friday," said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of the Center for Automotive Research.
GM hoped to appease Trump, but the company did not engage in Ohio.
Trump did not tweet about GM's announcement on Friday, a noticeable difference from his praise for Ford A little earlier in the week that followed, the builder announced that it would invest $ 1 billion in a Michigan plant.
But Larry Kudlow, chairman of the Trump National Economic Council, said GM news was welcome. He spoke to Barra on Thursday.
"It's a big plus. There are no two ways to do it, "said Kudlow. "GM is building in America, and they are investing in America."
Trump had asked Barra either to immediately reopen the Lordstown facility, or to sell it to another company that would build something else in the huge plant, which is the cornerstone of the Eastern Steel Valley. Ohio since 1966.
"And what's going on with General Motors? . . . Sell it to someone or open it yourself. Start now and the UAW will help you, "Trump said Wednesday during a visit to Ohio.
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The Lordstown area had voted for the Democrats to preside for decades before turning to Trump after promising to bring back jobs from abroad.
"Lordstown is a great neighborhood. I guess I like it because I've won so big there, "Trump said Wednesday.
According to the Department of Labor, the manufacturing sector has created the largest number of jobs last year since 1997, with many companies welcoming the president's tax cuts and deregulation policies, although most are not supporters of his rights on steel and aluminum.
Trumbull County, where Lordstown is located, has not benefited so much from the strength of the economy in recent years. The unemployment rate in the county is 7.7%, more than double the national rate and has changed little compared to 8.1% when Trump took office.
The President made it clear that he wanted another vehicle manufactured in Lordstown.
In the phone call with Trump, Barra tried to explain that the fate of the Lordstown plant would be decided this year when union negotiations would be finalized, but Trump did not like this answer, according to two people close to the company. 'call.
GM announced that the company is adhering to the new trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada, which encourages the production of vehicles in North America.
"We are excited to bring these jobs and this investment to the United States," Barra said Friday.
[From $22 an hour to $11: GM job cuts in Ohio show a hot economy is still leaving parts of America behind]
But some lawmakers in Ohio were not happy with Friday's announcement by GM. "After GM has pocketed billions of dollars in tax cuts, they can certainly afford to get their workers right, retool the Lordstown factory and invest in the valley as they have done in the township of Orion today, "said Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). .
GM workers in Lordstown are faced with a difficult choice: looking for another job in the region, going back to school to retrain, or accepting GM's offer to move elsewhere in the country.
Although GM has allowed several hundred workers in Lordstown to be mutually transferred to other factories, some letters are addressed to them, in which it is written that a worker must be transferred or that he must be content to work in the factory. GM factory in Lordstown, a risky bet, not reopen.
"It's a very stressful place," said David Green, president of UAW Local 1112 in Lordstown. "A hundred people had to send letters to Wentzville, Missouri. They said no. They are just not interested.
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