Lockport, N.Y. (WBEN) - General Motors announced on Friday it is making a $154 million investment into the Lockport plant for the future production of electric motor components.
"GM will invest $154 million here at Lockport, with most of that investment supporting electric motor production for our groundbreaking Altium electric vehicle platform, which will bring our all new EVs to life, including our future electric trucks and SUVs," said the company's Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability, Gerald Johnson.
"This investment is the next step in GM's journey to an all-electric future, and we want to make sure we bring everyone, all of our GM team along with us. In fact, this new larger workforce will play a crucial role in GM's parallel manufacturing strategy, which leverages our established manufacturing infrastructure as we transition to an all-EV future."
As Lockport Components, which is a unionized facility located on Upper Mountain Road, prepares for electric motor component production, the facility will continue to build a variety of components that support General Motors' current truck and SUV production. Lockport Components currently produces radiators, condensers, heater cores, evaporators, HVAC modules, oil coolers and other components used in a variety of General Motors trucks.
With this investment, General Motors estimates it will add approximately 230 new positions to Lockport between 2023 and 2026. Actual staffing plans will be finalized closer to the start of production, as the facility transitions to support EV motor component production.
"It's a great day, because we are here to talk about a four-letter word in Western New York: J-O-B-S," said Senator Charles Schumer, who was on-hand for Friday's announcement. "Good paying jobs, union jobs, hundreds of new jobs here at Lockport, and I'm proud of that.
"Over 230 jobs... and, in addition, there'll be hundreds of other ancillary jobs because of suppliers and ancillary benefits."
Schumer says he wants the United States to be the center of electric car manufacturing, but more importantly, he believes that jobs need to stay in America.
Electric cars are going to be the future, but the mistakes that were made in the past - where we let other countries take over, where we let non-union jobs take over - should not happen," Schumer said. "GM is committed to making electric cars here in America, GM is committed to making those jobs be union jobs, and GM is committed to Western New York."
"With this major investment at its Lockport facility, General Motors is taking the next steps to advance an all-electric future," said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in a written statement. "Not only will this investment provide a boost to Western New York's economy, but it will play a critical role in supporting our efforts to electrify the transportation sector and reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution."
Governor Hochul says Empire State Development (ESD) will provide up to $5.65 million in Excelsior Jobs Program "green" investment tax credits in return for investment commitments to move the project forward.
In addition to General Motors increasing its production of electric motor components in Western New York, Senator Schumer is also pushing to increase the production of computer chips for cars in the region.
"We're also trying to get done something called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which will provide money to do chip manufacturing here in the United States. And I am trying to make Western New York, the center of the new technology in that U.S. Innovation and Competition Act," Schumer said. "There'll be 10 centers and they can't choose New York City or San Francisco or Austin. They have to choose places that formerly were centers of manufacturing and now have lost that edge. So I'm fighting hard for Buffalo and Rochester to be one of them, the center in Western New York, which will help us as well.
"It's a good day, because it means that this Lockport plant has a great future. Today, this increase - 230 jobs, cutting edge manufacturing, which is going to grow in the future - is really, really important for the workers here, for the community and for Western New York."
