GM to Invest $245 Million, Add Jobs for New Product in Michigan

General Motors Co. on Monday said it would invest $245 million and add 300 jobs at its Orion Township, Mich., plant that was saved during the 2009 government bailout of the company, with the money coming to outfit the factory for the production of an undisclosed vehicle.

The announcement follows a separate $100-million-plus disclosure by the company in February for the Orion plant's upcoming production of the Chevrolet Bolt shortly after GM Chief Executive Mary Barra unveiled the fully-electric vehicle at the Detroit auto show. Expected to be priced at around $30,000 and capable of 200 miles of driving on an electric charge, the Bolt will take on a group of global auto makers planning similar electric cars for the U.S. market in the 2017 time frame.

GM will build another car and invest more money at the plant in Orion Township, a northern suburb of Detroit. Six years ago, the 32-year-old plant was the recipient of $1 billion in promised tax incentives and government grants. Had it not been for the Obama administration's demand that it stay open as a condition of billions of dollars in funding, Orion Township's factory would have been shut down to help shrink GM's capacity in the U.S.

Orion's product mix—composed entirely of small cars—hasn't fared well in an era of sustained low gasoline prices. GM has recently been laying workers off at the factory due to market conditions. The Bolt will enter an electric-vehicle market that is also performing poorly, but it could be an image booster for the auto maker, much like the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.

The new investment and jobs announcement comes about one month before Ms. Barra's management team will start negotiations with the United Auto Workers union on a new four-year labor pact. UAW officials said last week they will push for raises for the roughly 140,000 members working at Big 3 auto maker factories in the U.S.

Jobs announcements from U.S. car companies are typical in the weeks and months leading up to a new contract.

GM has unleashed a string of U.S. jobs and investment announcements in 2015 as part of a $5.4 billion investment plan slated for the next three years. In a news release, GM said it has announced U.S. facility investment of approximately $17.8 billion since the 2009 bailout and bankruptcy.

"About $12.4 billion of that has come since the 2011 UAW-GM National Agreement. In total, these investments have created 6,250 new jobs and secured the positions of approximately 20,700 others."

Write to John D. Stoll at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for General Motors Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US37045V1008

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires