LORDSTOWN The General Motors Lordstown Complex will receive a $200 million makeover for a redesigned Chevrolet Cruze, union and company officials announced moments ago.
The company will retool the entire plant and completely redesign the Cruze for the 2015 model year. No start date on the plant remodeling was announced, nor were any details of what the new Cruze would look like revealed.
GM will also invest $20 million in its Parma stamping plant, the union announced.
``This is a strong commitment to Lordstown and the Parma plants,'' Arvin Jones, GM Manufacturing manager said.
``Lordstown is a very good operation,'' he said.
This decision will retain 5,000 jobs in Northeast Ohio, including approximately 4,200 in Lordstown.
``This is strong evidence that we are on the right track in Lordstown and it was exactly the right place to build the Cruze and to build its next generation,'' Jones said. ``This will pay huge dividends for the company, its customers and the people of northeast Ohio.''
Jones said the new model would offer new exterior and interior styling, improved fuel economy and an improved interior compartment and more storage space. Preliminary work to clear space in the body shop at Lordstown has begun.