GM to breathe new life into the Spring Hill Manufacturing Plant

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General Motors has announced a $61 million investment to bring the currently idle Spring Hill assembly plant back to life, helping to fill the demand for some of their more popular vehicles. The Spring Hill assembly line was closed last year during GM's bankruptcy.

GM halted vehicle production at Spring Hill, Tennessee last November and moved production of the Chevrolet Traverse to Lansing, Michigan. This just two years after a $700 million retooling of the former Saturn plant, opened in 1990, so it could produce a wide array of vehicles.

The move will bring 594 hourly jobs and 91 salaried positions to a variable operation schedule starting with the popular Chevrolet Equinox by the latter half of next year. The resurrected assembly lines will compliment Canadian Equinox production, where the main assembly of the midsize crossover and the GMC Terrain take place.

The Equinox has seen U.S. sales grow by 18 percent last month, spurring GM to increase its production schedule three times since its inception in 2009.

GM recently announced a further investment of $183 million for future midsize vehicles to be built at the Spring Hill site, which is roughly 40 miles south of Nashville. Scheduling of this pour in was not revealed, but is expected to result in an additional 1,196 positions.

“Spring Hill has a history as one of GM’s most innovative and flexible plants,” said Cathy Clegg, vice president of GM Labor Relations, in a release on Mfgtech.com. “We’re pleased that, working together with the UAW, we were able to build on that history and develop a plan to resume production at Spring Hill.”

The role of the Spring Hill facility was part of the negotiations involved in a four-year national labor agreement ratified in October.

"Our number one priority in auto negotiations this year was jobs," said UAW President Bob King. "We asked the company to bring jobs back to America and that’s what this collective bargaining agreement represents. Together, we are bringing 1,800 jobs to Tennessee, and a total of 6,400 new GM jobs, which translates to nearly 60,000 good, auto-related jobs in the United States."

GM halted vehicle production at Spring Hill, Tennessee last November and moved production of the Chevrolet Traverse to Lansing, Michigan. This just two years after a $700 million retooling of the former Saturn plant, opened in 1990, so it could produce a wide array of vehicles.

The move will bring 594 hourly jobs and 91 salaried positions to a variable operation schedule starting with the popular Chevrolet Equinox by the latter half of next year. The resurrected assembly lines will compliment Canadian Equinox production, where the main assembly of the midsize crossover and the GMC Terrain take place.

The Equinox has seen U.S. sales grow by 18 percent last month spurring GM to increase its production schedule three times since its inception in 2009.

GM recently announced a further investment of $183 million for future midsize vehicles to be built at Spring Hill site, which is roughly 40 miles south of Nashville. Scheduling of this pour in was not revealed, but is expected to result in an additional 1,196 positions.
“Spring Hill has a history as one of GM’s most innovative and flexible plants,” said Cathy Clegg, vice president of GM Labor Relations, in a release on Mfgtech.com. “We’re pleased that, working together with the UAW, we were able to build on that history and develop a plan to resume production at Spring Hill.”

The role of the Spring Hill facility was part of the negotiations over a four-year national labor agreement ratified in October.

"Our number one priority in auto negotiations this year was jobs," said UAW President Bob King. "We asked the company to bring jobs back to America and that’s what this collective bargaining agreement represents. Together, we are bringing 1,800 jobs to Tennessee, and a total of 6,400 new GM jobs, which translates to nearly 60,000 good, auto-related jobs in the United States."
Fabrication of the Equinox is but one aspect of Spring Hill production. The lines are adaptable to building a variety of vehicles with a wide range of platforms, enabling GM to make up for the output of plants in the retooling process for newly developed crossovers or automobiles and allowing quicker reaction to sales surges in a given model.

The Spring Hill powertrain and stamping operations, home of the former Saturn line from 1990 to 2007 followed by the Chevrolet Traverse until 2009, are still in operation. In fact, GM has injected $515 million into engine production over the last 14 months to create the current and coming versions of the briskly selling Ecotec 4-cylinder engine.

"The re-opening of Spring Hill is a testament to the value of collective bargaining," said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union's General Motors Department. "Collective bargaining works for companies, for workers and for America. Collective bargaining is what brought good jobs to Tennessee. It is what built our middle class. It is how workers and communities have a voice in corporate decision-making. Bargaining is what gives the working class a seat at the table."

Surprisingly, GM has a short supply of some of its better-selling vehicles, including the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX, not to mention full-size pickup and sports utilities such as the Chevy Tahoe. GM has some 390,000 vehicles on American dealer lots, short of the intended level of 400,000 to 450,000 cars.

General Motors ceased vehicle production at their Spring Hill, Tennessee location in November, and transferred production of the Chevrolet Traverse to Lansing, Michigan. The move came just two years after GM spent $700 million retooling the former Saturn plant, which opened in 1990, so that it would be capable of producing a wide array of GM vehicles.

Fabrication of the Equinox is but one aspect of Spring Hill production. The lines are adaptable to building a variety of vehicles with a wide range of platforms, enabling GM to make up for the output of plants in the retooling process for newly developed crossovers or automobiles and allowing quicker reaction to sales surges in a given model.

The Spring Hill powertrain and stamping operations, home of the former Saturn line from 1990 to 2007 followed by the Chevrolet Traverse until 2009, are still in operation. In fact, GM has injected $515 million into engine production over the last 14 months to create the current and coming versions of the briskly selling Ecotec 4-cylinder engine.

"The re-opening of Spring Hill is a testament to the value of collective bargaining," said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union's General Motors Department. "Collective bargaining works for companies, for workers and for America. Collective bargaining is what brought good jobs to Tennessee. It is what built our middle class. It is how workers and communities have a voice in corporate decision-making. Bargaining is what gives the working class a seat at the table."

Surprisingly, GM has a short supply of some of its better selling vehicles, including the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX, not to mention full-size pickup and sports utilities such as the Chevy Tahoe. GM has some 390,000 vehicles on American dealer lots, short of the intended level of 400,000 to 450,000 cars.

General Motors ceased vehicle production at their Spring Hill, Tennessee location in November, and transferred production of the Chevrolet Traverse to Lansing, Michigan. The move came just two years after GM spent $700 million retooling the former Saturn plant, which opened in 1990, so that it would be capable of producing a wide array of GM vehicles.

GM halted vehicle production at Spring Hill, Tennessee last November and moved production of the Chevrolet Traverse to Lansing, Michigan. This just two years after a $700 million retooling of the former Saturn plant, opened in 1990, so it could produce a wide array of vehicles.

The move will bring 594 hourly jobs and 91 salaried positions to a variable operation schedule starting with the popular Chevrolet Equinox by the latter half of next year. The resurrected assembly lines will compliment Canadian Equinox production, where the main assembly of the midsize crossover and the GMC Terrain take place.

The Equinox has seen U.S. sales grow by 18 percent last month spurring GM to increase its production schedule three times since its inception in 2009.

GM recently announced a further investment of $183 million for future midsize vehicles to be built at Spring Hill site, which is roughly 40 miles south of Nashville. Scheduling of this pour in was not revealed, but is expected to result in an additional 1,196 positions.