GM to invest $877 million to overhaul Flint, Michigan, truck plant

General Motors Co said it will spend $877 million to overhaul its pickup truck factory in Flint, Michigan, capping a series of investments to keep production of profitable large pickups and sport utility vehicles rolling through a significant model change expected in 2018.

The Flint investment is part of a plan to expand three U.S. truck plants to install new assembly lines, body welding shops and paint operations for future generations of Silverado pickups and SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade, while still running the operations that build current models.

Company sources say GM's next-generation pickups and SUVs will make use of various materials, including aluminum to shed weight and gain fuel efficiency to meet tougher federal standards. Assembling the new vehicles will require substantially different equipment than the tools GM uses presently.

New paint shops at the truck plants also could allow GM to build vehicles that are larger than the current models, and cut costs at the same time, said company officials.

GM has announced a total of $5.4 billion in investments in U.S. plants since April, including the truck plant overhauls. The company also outlined upgrades to other operations, including a small car assembly operation in suburban Detroit, and an expanded facility in Warren, Michigan, that allows engineers and workers to test production systems before they are installed in a plant.

The investments could help GM in its effort to set the framework for the new labor agreements the United Auto Workers union is negotiating with the Detroit Three automakers. Securing jobs at U.S. factories remains a top priority with the union leaders.