US automobile major General Motors (GM) will pump in $245 million at its Orion Assembly unit in Michigan to launch new vehicles, creating 300 employment opportunities.
With this, the investment made in the manufacturing unit reaches $962m following the joint effort between United Automobile Workers (UAW) and GM towards reopening the unit in 2010.
GM North America manufacturing and labor relations - vice-president Cathy Clegg said: "Orion Assembly is a breeding ground for manufacturing innovation.
"It serves as a model for how to engage the entire workforce at all levels to achieve success. The plant is up to the challenge of building this brand-new product, something it's never seen before."
The company's initiative follows its announcement of a $160m investment for unveiling Chevrolet's Bolt EV seven months ago. The new vehicle is touted to clock more than 200 miles powered by a single electric charge.
UAW vice-president Cindy Estrada said: "Orion is an example of what we can achieve when we work together.
"Only through innovative problem solving were we going to see this plant succeed, and this new investment is proof of that. UAW-GM continue to show the world that when you involve both workers and management in the process, workers win, management wins and our communities win."
Recently, a process monitoring tool for robotic paint applicators, capable of alerting operators to failures, has been developed at the plant.
The new development is a part of $5.4bn that GM had earlier declared for investing in manufacturing unit in the US over the next three years. Around $3.1bn of it has been tracked so far.
Image: A GM employee dresses an engine for a Chevrolet Sonic at Orion Assembly. Photo: courtesy of General Motors.
