Cars and Drivers

GM Set to Announce $1 Billion US Investment, Creation of 1,000 Jobs

Paul Ausick

Published: January 17, 2017 9:15 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:49 pm

According to a report at The Wall Street Journal, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) will announce Tuesday a plan to invest at least $1 billion in new investments in the U.S. facilities that will result in the addition of more than 1,000 jobs. The report is based on information from two unnamed sources, and a GM spokesman said only that the company plans an announcement for Tuesday.

GM has taken some heat from President-elect Donald Trump for its plan to build the Chevy Cruze in Mexico and then importing the cars into the United States. Trump has threatened a border adjustment tax of as much as 35% on imports to the United States.

A GM executive told the Wall Street Journal that GM’s plan has been under discussion for “some time” and that the announcement is not being made as a response to Trump’s criticism.

Both Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) already have gone public with plans to make U.S. investments. Ford has said it cancelled plans to build a $1.6 billion Mexican plant, and FCA has said it will spend $1 billion to create up to 2,000 jobs in existing plants in Michigan and Ohio.

While Trump was quick to take credit for Ford’s decision to cancel its plan to build a new plant in Mexico, it is more likely that the cancellation was the result of poor sales of the Cruze. Happily for Ford, its decision coincided with Trump’s criticism and the company was able to connect the cancelled plant with the President-elect’s demand for more manufacturing jobs in the United States.

There’s not much question that some of the country’s largest companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), are hustling to announce programs to create new U.S. jobs. Wal-Mart is expected to announce Tuesday that it plans to create about 10,000 U.S. jobs this year, along with about 24,000 temporary construction jobs to build new stores and expand existing ones. The world’s largest retailer also expects to add jobs in its e-commerce division. Last year the company fired more than 17,000 workers after closing more than 150 stores.