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GM will build new electric vehicle, add 400 jobs at Orion plant

By Nicholas Sakelaris
General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced plans to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle at the Orion plant in Michigan where the original electric vehicle, the Bolt, is produced. File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI
General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced plans to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle at the Orion plant in Michigan where the original electric vehicle, the Bolt, is produced. File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI | License Photo

March 22 (UPI) -- General Motors will invest $300 million in its Orion Assembly Plant in Michigan, adding 400 new jobs plus a new all-electric vehicle to its lineup, the company announced Friday.

GM hasn't officially released details about the new electric vehicle but said it's "advancing GM's commitment to an all-electric future." The vehicle will carry the Chevrolet branding.

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"It will be designed and engineered off an advanced version of the current award-winning Bolt EV architecture," GM said in a statement.

The factory already manufactures Chevrolet's first all-electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Bolt. GM had originally considered building the new EV outside the United States, but decided to build it at Orion instead.

"It makes sense because the Chevrolet Bolt EV is built at Orion and this is a great workforce," GM CEO Mary Barra told CNBC. "So there is capacity here to be able to do that and there are synergies as well."

Earlier this year, Chevrolet canceled the hybrid Volt as it scaled back on car production.

On March 15, GM announced plans to build its new autonomous vehicle, the Cruise AV, at the Orion plant.

GM has come under fire from President Donald Trump in recent weeks for closing the Lordstown, Ohio plant, including a call to Barra.

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GM also announced that it has 2,700 job openings across the country for workers displaced at Lordstown or other plants. So far, 1,100 employees have been transferred to other locations.

Ford announced a nearly $900 million investment in U.S. plants this week to produce autonomous and electric vehicles. Trump highlighted that in a tweet this week.

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