ARLINGTON, Texas — General Motors (GM) announced Thursday it will spend $500 million to upgrade machinery at its Arlington assembly plant.
The new technology will enable workers to produce future versions of Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac's full-sized SUVs.
"This signifies a belief in the workers, who deliver day after day after day, and a belief in our community," said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.
The promise offers some clarity about the facility's role in a changing industry.
In 2021, GM announced it aimed to exclusively manufacture electric vehicles by 2035. General Motors was the first American carmaker to set such a goal.
But the Arlington assembly plant only produces vehicles with internal combustion engines that require fuel.
The investment, then, represents some job security for the plant's 5,000 employees. Executives said the facility will continue producing fuel-powered SUVs, at least into the next decade.
"Our company leaders have been very transparent about what the vision of GM is over the next 15-20 years," Arlington GM Plant Executive Director John Urbanic said. "Internal combustion engine vehicles play a critical role in us enabling what our longer term vision is."
The development is important for Tarrant County, where GM is the largest industrial taxpayer and among the largest employers.
General Motors estimates workers at the plant made a combined $471.7 million in taxable wages in 2022.
"An announcement like this helps clarify what we've already disclosed as our long term plan," Urbanic said. "It's made it very clear on what we need to do to get there, and this is a step in that direction."
Urbanic would not speculate whether the 69-year-old facility will eventually produce electric vehicles, instead instructing Arlington residents to "stay tuned."