New GM Engine Line Equals Jobs For Laid Off Auto Workers Across WNY
Good news for several hundred General Motors workers laid off in Rochester and Lockport.
General Motors announced Thursday that the Town of Tonawanda plant is going to be manufacturing brand new engines for their next generation pickup trucks, meaning new jobs.
GM's investment in their new EcoTec3 engines will create or retain more than 1,600 jobs in their five North American plants, including the one in Tonawanda. Steve Finch, the Plant Manager at the Tonawanda Powertrain Plant, tells us that 400 to 500 jobs will be added at the plant.
Three hundred of those will likely come from former Lockport and Rochester GM employees, while the rest will be new hires.
The new EcoTec engines will be featured in the 2014 Silverado and Sierra 1500.
This comes along with GM's announcement in October that Tonawanda Engine will be adding 700 jobs to be the exclusive supplier of a new V-8 engine for the next Corvette. This is part of a $400 million investment announced back in 2010 by General Motors.