GM’s Arlington plant adds Saturday production shifts

The General Motors Arlington assembly plant is going to six-day workweeks for the rest of the year to boost production of its popular full-size sport utility vehicles.

The plant, which recently got a $1.4 billion boost from the company with an expansion and upgrade project, builds Chevrolet Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Yukon XLs, and Cadillac Escalades.

Jennifer Ecclestone, a GM spokeswoman in Arlington, said the plant will operate each Saturday for the rest of the year, except for holiday weekends.

While the plant has run some Saturday shifts since last year, she said, it officially began regular Saturday shifts Aug. 1.

According to a report from Reuters, GM wants to capitalize on rising demand for its vehicles by boosting production at the plant by 48,000 to 60,000 vehicles in the 2016 model year. But Ecclestone dismissed that as “speculative information.” In 2014, the plant built 280,270 vehicles, she said.

“We are working to meet the product demands for our customers and looking at creative ways to produce additional vehicles given the high demand but have not committed to any specific numbers, nor do we have any confirmed plans to add that level of production,” Ecclestone said.

Demand for GM’s big SUVs is so strong that GM has run three shifts in Arlington.

In July, when the expansion was announced, Cathy Clegg, GM’s vice president for North America manufacturing and labor relations, said, “When it comes to full-size SUVs, Arlington is where the magic happens.

“These vehicles are vital to the success of our company. That’s why it’s so crucial to keep this facility running on all cylinders,” she said.

The renovation and expansion will reconfigure the plant with a new paint shop and body shop, as well as assembly-area upgrades. The project is part of $5.4 billion that GM is investing in its U.S. manufacturing operations over the next three years, company officials said.

Since June 2009, GM has announced about $17.8 billion in U.S. plant improvements. Last fall, it opened a stamping facility as part of a $530 million expansion and overhaul of the Arlington plant.

In April, the City Council approved the creation of a tax reinvestment zone to provide $28.7 million in tax breaks to the Detroit-based company, which agreed to maintain at least 3,179 jobs. That’s an increase of 589 jobs over GM’s previous commitment to the city, made in an abatement deal for the stamping facility, city officials said.

The GM Arlington workforce is well beyond that threshold, now numbering 4,180, GM officials said.

In its second-quarter earnings statement, GM said SUV and pickup sales were highly profitable because they bring in more dollars per vehicle. Kelley Blue Book estimated GM’s average U.S. selling price at $37,025 for the quarter, up 3.3 percent from a year ago.

“Our SUV sales across the business are up more than 80 percent,” Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published August 14, 2015 at 1:53 PM with the headline "GM’s Arlington plant adds Saturday production shifts."