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GM spending $600 million to upgrade Kansas factory

Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
Tina Knudson works in engine assembly at the General Motors Fairfax Assembly and Stamping Plant
  • GM will invest to build a new paint shop and other improvements
  • The plant makes Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse
  • The current factory opened in 1987 and employs almost 3%2C900 workers

General Motors is going to spend $600 million on the Kansas City, Kans., plant where it builds some of its most important midsize sedans.

GM announced today that the upgrades to the Fairfax Assembly and Stamping Plant, as it is known, will include a new 450,000 square-foot paint shop, a new stamping press and other improvements. The Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse are built at the plant.

GM says it's one of the largest plant investments it has ever made, amounting to almost half the $1.5 billion in improvements it has announced for this year. It should take two years to complete.

The Fairfax plant was opened in 1987 and employs nearly 3,900 workers. While the improvements won't add new factory jobs, GM says it will ensure the positions there now will continue.

"This major investment is a vote of confidence in the employees and leadership of this plant and will allow them to continue producing beautiful, world-class vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse," said GM CEO Dan Akerson in a statement.

The plant will use half as much energy as others like it, and will do more work with a smaller footprint. With the jobs it will create, the improvements thrill the United Auto Workers union.

"The United Auto Workers have proudly built vehicles in Fairfax for decades and looks forward to being part of the upgrades that will be taking place in the plant," said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who is charge of looking out for GM workers. "This commitment to the future of the plant and the workforce is a reminder to all of us that we build the world's best vehicles, with the world's best people."

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