General Motors to invest $500M in Arlington Assembly plant to build next-gen SUVS

More than $500 million is heading towards General Motors Arlington Assembly.

With the new investment, the plant expects to produce the next cycle of internal combustion engine (ICE) full-size SUVs. The Arlington plant exports cars to over 30 countries and assembles the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

It is unclear exactly when the Arlington plant will begin producing GM’s next cycle of SUVs and exactly what products will be included.

Business leaders and local officials gathered Thursday morning to celebrate the new investment.

“Today we are announcing plans for a significant investment in Arlington to strengthen our industry-leading full-size SUV business,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, said in a release. “Preparing the plant to produce future ICE full-size SUVs reflects our commitment to our valued customers and the efforts of the dedicated Arlington Assembly employees, who have been breaking production records this year.”

The investment in Arlington is expected to complement GM’s larger U.S. manufacturing operations.

Johnson told the Star-Telegram that General Motors has plans to announce $3 billion in investment across its national plants and distribution centers over the next 10 days. The company has more than 50 plants and distribution centers across the country.

GM has funneled more than $2 billion into the Arlington Assembly since 2013. With the $500 million investment, the plant will receive new equipment and tooling for general assembly, body shop and stamping areas.

The investment is focused on equipping the Arlington facility for the next cycle of production and maintaining opportunity for the existing jobs at the GM Arlington plant, Johnson said. It remains to be seen if some new jobs could be created with the investment.

“We have more than 4,000 people who work really hard, who are great problem solvers in order to figure out every day how to produce nearly 1,200 vehicles a day at quality levels that are industry leading on a vehicle that we can’t seem to get enough of in terms of the customer demand,” Johnson said.

“How well they’re able to do that lively as a team consistently on behalf of themselves, Arlington, the Arlington community, Texas and General Motors is something we’re recognizing. $500 million is a good way to do it.”

Mike Booth, United Auto Workers vice president of the GM department, said UAW is proud of the work GM members do to build quality union-made products in the U.S. at the event.

“When business is booming as it has been for the past decade — due to the hard work of UAW members — the company should continue to invest in its workforce,” Booth said in a release.

GM and UAW partners negotiate a new contract ever four years. GM’s Johnson said the company will sit down with UAW partners in September to determine what the next four years will look like.

“We will figure out as we always do how to move forward to the next contract,” Johnson told the Star-Telegram. “Looking forward to that. Looking forward to working and relating with our new union leadership that’s in place. We solve problems, we’ll solve these too.”

During the event, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross discussed GM’s long-standing history in Arlington since the 1950s and said UAW and GM’s partnership has made Arlington a better place to raise families.

“That signifies a belief in the workers who deliver day after day after day and a belief in our community that we’re going to stand shoulder to shoulder and take care of your employees, take care of their families, take care of their schools, take care of their neighborhoods,” Ross said. “I’m so stinking proud that this relationship has continued to go on.”

More than 34,000 new vehicles rolled out of General Motors Arlington assembly plant in March, setting a new record for the number of cars ever produced in one month across the plant’s 70-year history in North Texas.

The facility at 2525 E. Abram St. currently employs more than 5,600 people. GM is still in conversation with local government officials about opportunity for tax incentives, Johnson said.

“This community and this economy gets the benefit of having those moneys flow through their economy that supports grocery stores and movie theaters and all the things that have come that you see here,” Johnson said. “I have been coming to Arlington for a long time. A lot has grown around this area, and I think we had a part to play in that.”

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said the plant and its workers are a benefit to the county at the event.

“With this $500 million investment, it will be an even stronger economic engine for Tarrant County,” O’Hare said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a release said the GM Arlington Assembly has played an integral role in the economic success of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Abbott did not attend the event.

“General Motors’ over half-a-billion-dollar investment in their North Texas assembly plant will strengthen Texas’ position as a global manufacturing leader and continue creating good-paying jobs for generations of Texans,” Abbott said. “I thank General Motors for continuing to invest in our state’s diverse, highly skilled workforce and look forward to maintaining the strong partnership between this great company and the State of Texas.”

John Urbanic, manufacturing executive director of the Arlington Assembly, and Kenny Hines, UAW Local 276 Shop Chair of the Arlington Assembly, also attended the event.