General Motors (GM) is set to boost production of its light-duty trucks at its assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the US, as reported by Reuters in a webcast sent to plant employees. This decision comes in response to US President Donald Trump’s implementation of 25% tariffs on auto imports, with the aim of encouraging companies to bring their manufacturing operations back to the US.
GM CEO Mary Barra had previously hinted at the possibility of increasing domestic production in light of the new tariffs during the company’s January earnings call. Barra mentioned, “From a Mexico perspective, we do build trucks in Mexico and in Canada and in the United States. And so we have the capacity in the United States to shift some of that.”
The Fort Wayne facility is capable of producing Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, which are also manufactured at GM’s plants in Mexico and Canada. Plant director Dennys Pimenta informed employees in the webcast that the company may implement additional overtime days to support the heightened output.
In a letter to United Auto Workers Local 2209 members, local shop chairman Rich LeTourneau disclosed that the Fort Wayne plant is expected to add between 225 and 250 jobs as part of the line-speed increase. It is anticipated that several hundred temporary workers will be hired to facilitate the expanded operations.
To accommodate the necessary changes, production at the Fort Wayne plant will be temporarily halted from 22 to 25 April. Indiana Senator Jim Banks expressed his approval of GM’s proposal, stating, “Today’s announcement from General Motors is great news for Hoosiers. It hasn’t even been 24 hours and President Trump’s plan is already delivering for working families in Indiana in a big way.”
Furthermore, recent reports indicated that GM and Hyundai are in discussions to finalize a partnership that would allow Hyundai to supply two electric commercial van models to GM in North America. In return, Hyundai may receive pickup trucks from GM to be sold under the Hyundai brand. The discussions also encompass potential collaborations in areas such as semiconductor procurement, next-generation batteries, and battery materials.
