General Motors employees work on the assembly line on Friday, April 26, 2019 at Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kansas. The Fairfax plant manufactures the Cadillac XT4 and Chevrolet Malibu.
Jim Barcus for GM
General Motors announced Thursday that it will invest $ 100 million in two of its U.S. manufacturing plants to increase production of ten-speed automatic transmissions found in two of its popular pickups.
The company is allocating $ 93 million for its plant in Romulus, Michigan, which will increase “machining capacity,” according to a statement. The company is also investing $ 7 million in a plant in Bedford, Indiana, to build metal.
The investments are intended to increase the production of the transmissions used for its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light pickups.
“Demand for our Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups is still very strong and we are taking action to increase the availability of our trucks for our dealers and customers,” said Phil Kienle, vice president of GM North American Manufacturing and Labor Relations. . , said in a release.
The Michigan plant builds V-6 engines and ten-speed transmissions for GM’s Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles, the company said, while the Indiana casting system for aluminum transmission housings, converter housings, manufactures heads and small gas blocks. .
The investments come amid a temporary halt at three of General Motors’ assembly plants until mid-March due to a global shortage of semiconductor chips. The closures are meant to ensure that the company has enough chips to manufacture its more profitable pickups and sport utility vehicles.
Global carmakers are expected to lose about $ 60 billion in sales this year due to the shortfall. The chips are used for areas ranging from information systems to more traditional components such as power steering. It is also used in consumer electronics.
The affected plants are in Kansas; Ontario, Canada; and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. They manufacture the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Buick Encore, Cadillac XT4, GMC Terrain, and Chevy Equinox and Trax crossovers.
– CNBC’s Mike Wayland contributed to this report.