GM reinstating third shift at Tennessee plant
General Motors Co. is reinstating a third shift at its Spring Hill assembly plant in Tennessee in response to demand for the GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5 crossovers.
The third shift, which will add about 700 jobs, is expected to begin production in September, effectively replacing the shift that was eliminated in November.
GM eliminated the third shift, a move it expected to affect 680 jobs in Spring Hill, late last year. At the same time, the Detroit automaker said it would invest $294 million for plant upgrades and to build a new Cadillac crossover at the plant.
It’s still not clear what that new Cadillac crossover will be. The Cadillac XT4 compact crossover that debuted at the New York International Auto Show last month will be built at GM’s Kansas City assembly plant.
Spring Hill currently employs about 3,000 workers.
Sales of the GMC Acadia were up 3 percent through the first three months of 2018, while XT5 sales increased 10 percent in the same period. Spring Hill is also building the Holden Acadia this year for export to Australia and New Zealand.
The addition of a third shift at Spring Hill comes two weeks after GM said it was moving to one shift at its Lordstown Assembly Plant in Ohio, cutting a second shift that could affect up to 1,500 jobs at the 3,000-employee plant and offering buyouts of up to $60,000 to impacted workers.