GM said to plan US$1b US investment in nod to Trump

[SOUTHFIELD, Michigan] General Motors Co will invest US$1 billion in US plants as part of a previously announced factory retooling for future models, a person familiar with the matter said, as President-elect Donald Trump pressures carmakers to boost spending and hiring.

The largest US automaker will create or retain 1,000 jobs at several existing facilities, said the person, who asked not to be named ahead of an announcement expected Tuesday.

The plans from Detroit-based GM follow similar moves by rivals Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, both of which said last week they would expand in the US after Trump threatened for months to slap Mexico-built vehicles with a 35 per cent import tax.

Automakers are eager to cooperate with the incoming administration as they prepare to ask for favours including less-stringent fuel economy rules and lower corporate taxes.

In GM's case, the company probably would have announced the plans at a later date, but accelerated the timing due to Mr Trump, the person said. Less than two minutes into his first formal press conference after the November election, Mr Trump on Wednesday highlighted Ford's plans to cancel a US$1.6 billion factory in Mexico and expand an existing plant in Michigan.

Fiat Chrysler committed US$1 billion toward building three new Jeeps in the US and enabling a Michigan facility to build a Ram pickup now produced in Mexico.

"I hope that General Motors will be following and I think they will be," Mr Trump said Wednesday at Trump Tower in Manhattan. "I think a lot of people will be following. I think a lot of industries are going to be coming back."

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