ARLINGTON -- General Motors will add a third shift and about 800 jobs to its Arlington truck assembly plant early next year, the company announced Friday, a boost that adds to previously announced expansions.
In total, GM will now add upwards of 1,100 employees to the Arlington plant's payroll in the next year as it prepares to launch a new line of large SUVs for the 2014 model year. Workers have been putting in overtime to meet production demands for the plant's SUVs.Paul Graham, the Arlington plant's manager, said GM will begin hiring the additional workers in the fourth quarter so it can start running the third production shift early next year.New workers could come from the ranks of those laid off at other GM plants, a much smaller pool than in the past, as well as transfers or new hires.GM spokeswoman Donna McAllen said the plant is not yet accepting applications for the hourly jobs. GM posts open salaried positions on its website.GM and the United Auto Workers union will have to work out the details for transferring and hiring workers under terms of the company's national labor contract."We're expecting it's going to be a mixture of current GM people but there could also be some new people," Graham said. "The real planning starts about now. We've got to plan how we're going to get the people."Previously announced were a plant expansion and retooling to produce the 2014 vehicles, and a new sheet-metal-stamping facility that will produce body parts now shipped in from other GM plants.GM has said those plans would require $500 million in new investments and more than 300 new jobs.The addition of a third shift in Arlington was closely guarded. Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said that he was told two weeks ago that a decision had been made and that an announcement was forthcoming."I'm extremely pleased because this is a huge deal for GM Arlington, but it's also huge for the jobs; 800 jobs is huge," said Cluck.The Arlington plant is GM's only production facility that builds full-size SUVs -- the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. It produced 282,000 vehicles in 2010 and 270,000 in 2011, as SUV sales remained steady despite fuel prices that at times approached $4 a gallon in Texas and higher elsewhere.The third shift isn't necessarily a sign that GM expects sales of large SUVs to pick up. For the last two years, the plant's roughly 2,300 union-represented hourly production workers have toiled 50- and 60-hour weeks, often six days a week, to meet demand.Looking ahead, Graham said, GM is confident about future demand for the Arlington-built SUVs and aware of the need to reduce current employees' workloads. It also wants to maintain or raise production levels when the 2014 vehicles go into production, at a date that GM has not revealed.The Arlington-built vehicles' quality is among the best for GM and the industry. The Escalade was the highest-quality luxury SUV and the Yukon was the second-highest full-size SUV in J.D. Power and Associates' annual surveys released Wednesday.The quality of work and productivity of the Arlington plant, Graham said, have all helped persuade GM to invest in and add capacity in Arlington."We have a great relationship with the UAW, with the people. They're the ones that build these great trucks," Graham said.The growth at Arlington validates local union leaders' decisions over the years to work with plant management."We decided a long time ago to take a different approach," said Belinda Langley, the union's shop chairwoman at the plant. "We want to make sure GM is successful."Most of her colleagues will welcome a third shift and the reduced overtime hours that will come with it, Langley said. "There's only so much these bodies can take."U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, hailed GM's announcement."This announcement is a tribute to the great work ethic and dedication of the employees and management at that plant," he said in a statement. "They make quality products in an efficient way. This is also a testament to the reemergence of GM as a power in the auto industry."Barton bucked the Republican establishment in 2009 and supported President Barack Obama's decision to provide federal financial backing to GM as it underwent a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.Bob Cox, 817-390-7723Twitter: @bobcoxictHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
