Detroit-based General Motors Co. announced Thursday it will add a second shift and more than 400 hourly jobs at its Bowling Green Assembly plant in Kentucky to support production of the next-generation Corvette, which will have a mid-engine design. It is scheduled to be revealed on July 18. The addition will bring the plant’s workforce to more than 1,300.
“The Corvette’s iconic status owes so much to the men and women of Bowling Green, where it has been built exclusively for almost 40 years,” says Mary Barra, CEO and chairman of GM. “This is the workforce that can deliver a next-generation Corvette worthy of both its historic past and an equally exciting future, and today’s announcement gets us one step closer to its reveal on July 18.”
GM has invested more than $900 million in the plant since 2011, including investments toward a new body shop, increased engine capacity, a new paint shop, a new performance build center, and other upgrades.
The plant has produced more than 1 million Corvettes since it opened in 1981. It has the largest solar array of any automaker in Kentucky, and its annual economic impact includes more than $76 million in state wages and $15 million in income tax.
The first-generation Corvette was introduced as a show car for the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show. It generated enough interest to go into production.
The seventh and most current Corvette was revealed in January 2013 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and was the first to bring back the Stingray nameplate since 1976. The final production of the seventh-generation Corvette will be auctioned off this summer with proceeds benefiting the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which helps injured military veterans, and first responders.
