Area Development
In a confirmation of a previously announced plan to refurbish its Lordstown, Ohio, factory for production of a new small vehicle, General Motors Corporation (GM) will invest $350 million at that facility to build the Chevrolet Cruze, a compact car that the company says will get around 45 miles per gallon. GM has already added 1,400 jobs at the facility to accommodate increased demand for the Cobalt that is currently being produced there, along with the Pontiac G5. GM's CEO Rick Wagoner says the decision to build the Cruze at Lordstown is based on "the Lordstown work force and the strong partnerships with the UAW and local and state officials." The Akron Beacon Journal reports that the state provided GM with incentives worth $84.1 million for the project, and that they may double that amount if GM agrees to an as-yet undisclosed project elsewhere in the state; the company has not confirmed this. The new vehicle is scheduled to debut in the United States in 2010.