Greg Middleton, a GM employee for 28 years, assembles a 2015 Buick Enclave on April 30, 2015 at GM Lansing Delta Township's assembly plant. (Photo11: Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors)

General Motors announced Monday that it would invest $ 36 million in its Lansing Delta Township plant for future cross-over production.

The factory manufactures the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs.

"We are proud of the hard work and dedication of the entire Lansing team, and the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave are important products in our growing crossover portfolio," said GM's Executive Director. , Mary Barra, in a press release. "This investment will allow us to prepare the plant for future cross production."

GM does not currently disclose details or timelines for future plant products.

The investment comes as GM disables another five of its North American plants this year, generating 6,200 jobs, as part of a restructuring plan to cut 8,000 white-collar jobs through buybacks. dismissals and involuntary layoffs.

The Township of Lansing Delta is GM's newest plant. It opened in May 2006. It manages two production teams and employs 2,600 people, GM said. GM said the Township of Lansing Delta is the first manufacturing facility in the United States to be a certified leader in energy and environmental design (LEED).

Since 2009, GM has invested more than $ 600 million in the plant. In 2015, GM announced it would invest $ 5.4 billion in plant improvements in the United States over the next three years.

The plant is one of a kind because GM's manufacturing engineers have developed the "Ergo Chair". The chair rests on a robotic arm that transports the worker into the vehicle in the ideal position to perform every operation necessary to assemble the vehicle.

GM has announced plans to shut down its plants in Detroit-Hamtramck; Lordstown, Ohio; and Oshawa, Ontario, at the end of 2019. More than 6,200 hourly jobs are at risk, including 645 at a transmission plant in Warren and one in Maryland.

More: General Motors to close Detroit, Ohio, Canada factories

GM and Barra have been heavily criticized by President Donald Trump, politicians from Ohio and Michigan, as well as by unions in the United States and Canada. GM's decision to build the new Chevrolet Blazer SUV in Mexico was a sore point.

But GM said the cuts are needed to position the company in the face of market changes. Unused plants produce sedans that are not popular with consumers, including the Chevrolet Volt, Cruze and Impala, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac XTS.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Jlareauan. Learn more about General Motors and sign up for our Car Newsletter.

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