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General Motors on Monday announced plans to invest $632 million in its Fort Wayne Assembly plant.
While no new jobs are being created, the company said the move will help retain the nearly 4,000 employees at the northeast Indiana facility.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. said the investment will support the production of the next-generation full-size light-duty trucks with internal combustion engines.
GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly, located in the town of Roanoke about 16 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, produces Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks.
The investment will fund new conveyors, tooling and equipment in the plant’s body and general assembly areas with the goal of strengthening the automaker’s full-size truck business over the next several years.
“This investment will not only support the production of next-generation trucks, but it will support Hoosier workers,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a news release. “We’re thankful to GM for their commitment to Indiana and look forward to continuing to strengthen that partnership through investments like these.”
The IEDC plans to offer GM up to $1 million in training grants, $200,000 in Manufacturing Readiness Grants, and up to $10 million in conditional structured performance payments, pending approval by the IEDC Board of Directors.
The company will not be eligible to claim the incentives until the investments are made and existing employment is retained, the IEDC said.
“In today’s global economy, having the significant presence and growth of GM positions Fort Wayne and Allen County for current and future investments and successes,” said Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. “This public-private partnership assists in providing excellent jobs for residents and enhances the overall quality of life in the communities in northeast Indiana.”
Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers said the announcement represents GM’s seventh investment in Indiana since 2021, totaling nearly $1.3 billion. The automaker has invested more than $2.8 billion in its Indiana operations since 2013.
Last year, GM made two major expenditures in its Indiana operations as it worked toward its goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035.
In September, GM said it would spend nearly $500 million to expand and upgrade operations at its Marion Metal Center to equip new and future EV models. The expanded operations are expected to begin in late 2024.
The following month, GM announced a $45 million investment in its Bedford Casting Operation. The investment would support additional production of electric vehicle drive unit castings ahead of anticipated strong demand for the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV full-size pickups.
In a December 2022 interview, GM spokesperson Dan Flores told Inside INdiana Business the automaker is committed to the Fort Wayne plant even as the company puts a greater emphasis on electric vehicles.
“Our full-size pickup business … is the driver for the company,” Fores said. “Not only is it our highest-volume product, it’s a very profitable product for us. Fort Wayne is really important when it comes to enabling the company to reinvest in itself as we prepare for an all-EV future.”
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GM Assembly isn’t in Roanoke. Roanoke is the plant’s mailing address. The plant is located in Allen County. Roanoke is a town in Huntington County.