$120 million from GM sparks hope in Detroit (Chevy Malibu / Volt will be built there)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

With GM's $120 million investment, the plant that straddles the Detroit-Hamtramck border will build the Malibu and the Volt and reassure workers in this community.

By Steve Hargreaves, Senior writerApril 21, 2010: 3:36 PM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/21/news/economy/gm_detroit/index.htm?source=cnn_bin

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors' announcement Wednesday that it's investing $120 million in a Detroit auto plant is an encouraging sign for many in this hard hit city.

"Investment of that amount means long-term job security," said Tom Summers, vice president at union Local 22, which represents workers at the plant that straddles the Detroit-Hamtramck border. "And it shows that Michigan is still a centerpiece of manufacturing."

The investments are designed to produce the next generation of the Chevy Malibu, GM's best selling car, in the facility located just 5 miles northeast of downtown Detroit.

The Malibu is currently made at a Kansas City plant. It was also made at a factory about a half hour drive northeast of Detroit, but that plant is being retooled to make a smaller car.

Summers said 100 or so furloughed workers at the Hamtramck plant should be brought back, and maybe even new ones hired, over the next couple of years.

Ultimately, he said GM plans on running the factory three shifts a day, which could entail at least doubling the workforce. The plant currently employs just over 1,000 people and runs one shift a day.