GM temporarily laid off 350 workers at the plant in November.Watch video
DETROIT, MI - General Motors made it official Thursday: It's hiring back 500 second-shift jobs at its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant to help build the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.
GM temporarily laid off 350 workers at the plant in November. The second-shift workers will begin late this summer.
The current, fifth-generation Camaro is built at a GM plant in Ontario. With the new, sixth-generation Camaro's arrival in Lansing, GM is investing $175 million in its facility there for new equipment and new paint systems, including those for Camaro-specific colors: Summit White, Bright Yellow, and Red Hot.
GM also builds its Cadillac ATS and CTS models at the Lansing plant.
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said Thursday's announcement makes him feel like "the luckiest mayor in America."
"Gearing up for full-scale production of the legendary Chevy Camaro is a new high point in the more than two decades of extraordinary partnership between the City of Lansing, General Motors and the UAW," the mayor said in a statement.
GM's $175 million investment is the latest in a string of $5.4 billion worth of upgrades the Detroit automaker said it plans to put into its U.S. facilities over the next three years.
In recent weeks, the company has announced $2.8 billion of that investment, including $439 million at its Corvette plant in Kentucky and $1.2 billion at its truck facility in Indiana.
In Michigan, GM plans to invest $124 million at the Pontiac Metal Center, $520 million for tooling and equipment at the Lansing Delta Township plant, where it is preparing for new product and retaining 1,900 jobs; and $139.5 million for a new body shop and stamping facility upgrades at Pre-Production Operations in Warren.
Also in Warren, the company is investing $1 billion at its technical center and adding about 2,600 jobs as part of upgrades and new construction at the 326-acre campus.
The all-new Camaro was unveiled May 16 in Detroit. It's faster and 200 pounds lighter than its predecessor, GM said.
It will come equipped with 2.0L turbo that gets 275 horsepower and can move the car from 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds. It will also get a 3.6L V-6 that will get an estimated 335 horsepower, and a 6.2L V-8 in the SS trim that gets an estimated 455 hp.
The 2016 Camaro goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year.
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David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter