Released on October 28, 2011

General Motors announced it will invest approximately $215 million in its Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, Saginaw, Mich., to update the plant for production of future engine blocks and heads.

“We look forward to continuing our long and proud heritage of in-house casting for key components,” said Diana Tremblay, GM’s global chief manufacturing officer. “We believe these operations really enhance our ability to provide more fuel-efficient engines to our customers around the globe."

According to a GM press release, the investment is expected to create or retain about 275 jobs at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations. The plant, which currently has about 630 employees on two shifts, builds a variety of aluminum engine blocks and cylinder heads for GM products, including the Buick LaCrosse and Chevy Malibu.

The investment is the latest development in a growth pattern exhibited by Saginaw Metal Casting Operations since GM emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. In June, GM announced the facility had won a job exporting aluminum castings for a new engine. That work was part of a $65 million investment to build additional Ecotec four-cylinder engines in New York and Tennessee and created or retained 53 jobs in Saginaw.

“This announcement is another example of a very positive trend that is occurring at GM,” said Joe Ashton, a United Auto Workers union vice president representing the employees in Saginaw. “Saginaw is like so many communities in the Midwest that have suffered the loss of their manufacturing jobs to other countries around the globe.”