GM investment represents confidence in Fort Wayne plant, official says
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The assistant plant director for General Motors’ Fort Wayne Assembly facility says the automaker’s planned $632 million investment “speaks volumes to the future and the confidence that company has in us.”
GM said Monday the investment will support the production of next-generation internal combustion engine trucks at the plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Cherry Weiland said the investment shows the company has a good strategy for blending electric and traditional vehicles.
“Obviously, the company and the industry is moving towards EV,” Weiland said. “But we know that pickup truck drivers still like to drive their pickups, and they want an internal combustion engine. And that’s something that we can provide for the next few years to get us to that blended strategy.”
GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly, located in the town of Roanoke about 16 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, opened in 1986 and employs nearly 4,000 workers.
Weiland said they rolled the 10 millionth vehicle off the line just last week at the 4.6 million-square-foot plant, which produces about 1,300 trucks daily.
She said the employees were particularly excited about the announcement because, even though no new jobs are being created, the investment has created a sense of relief for many.
“Over the past few years, since our bankruptcy, we’ve closed a few facilities,” she said. “We have several team members that work here that have been with General Motors for several years, but not always at Fort Wayne because of that. And knowing that we have a bright future here and for many years to come really put a lot of relief in the in the minds of a lot of our team members.”
The investment will fund new conveyors, tooling and equipment in the plant’s body and general assembly areas with the goal of strengthening the automaker’s full-size truck business over the next several years.
Weiland said production will not miss a beat as the investment is made.
“That timing hasn’t been directly announced, but our vice president today made it very clear that we will be building internal combustion engines through this decade.”