GM to invest $2 billion in US plants, add 4,000 jobs

US car maker General Motors (GM), which filed for bankruptcy protection nearly two years ago, is now on the upswing and announced plans to invest around $2 billion at its plants in the US.

The Detroit-based carmaker yesterday said it would invest about $2 billion in its assembly and component plants in the US, creating or preserving more than 4,000 jobs at 17 facilities in eight states.

Making the announcement at its 54-year-old Toledo Transmission Plant in Ohio, GM's chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said: "We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy. This new investment is on top of $3.4 billion and more than 9,000 jobs that GM has added or saved since mid-2009."

The announcement comes a week after GM reported a tripling of its first quarter profits at $3.2 billion year-on-year and an increase in its market share to 19.6 per cent through April from 18.7 per cent in the same period last year, according to Autodata Corp.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009 after receiving a $52 billion bail-out from the US government, is now flush with funds - sitting on cash pile of $36.5 billion.

Although it is not clear where GM will spend the money, the company had said last week that it would invest $131 million at its plant in Kentucky that will produce the next generation of the classic Chevrolet Corvette.