DETROIT _ General Motors announced plans Wednesday to add or retain approximately 900 jobs across three Michigan plants over the next 12 months. The announcement came in advance of President Donald Trump's scheduled Wednesday visit to the state.
Many of the jobs _ up to 680 of them _ may be filled by some of the 1,000 workers the company laid off from its Lansing Delta Township plant.
GM said the new jobs are in addition to 3,300 jobs it promised to add in the U.S. as part of its four-year contract with the United Auto Workers union that was signed in 2015. GM also said the new jobs are not directly connected to any new policies proposed by Trump.
"The job commitments announced today demonstrate the confidence we have in our products, our people and an overall positive outlook for the auto industry and the U.S. economy," GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
The new jobs also are in addition to the 7,000 jobs and $1 billion in U.S. investments GM announced earlier this year.
Specifically, GM said it plans to:
_Add 220 jobs at its Romulus Powertrain Plant: GM will add jobs to increase production of the 10-speed automatic transmission to be used in multiple GM products, including the current 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
_Retain 180 jobs at the Flint Assembly Plant: GM will retain 180 jobs by redeploying workers from Lansing Delta Township to support production of the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pick-up trucks.
_Retain 500 jobs at Lansing Delta Township: GM laid off 1,000 workers at this plant because it is transitioning from building three models to two models _ the all-new Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. During this transition, the plant will not operate a third shift. When the plant has fully launched new crossovers by early 2018, GM will bring back about 500 jobs to give the company flexibility to meet market demand for the new vehicles.
Trump had invited a number of automakers, automotive executives and auto employees to attend an event Wednesday at the American Center for Mobility.
The president is set to announce plans to pull back on the Environmental Protection Agency's fuel economy standards.
