GM proposal would revive Detroit, Lordstown plants

DETROIT -- GM's offer to the UAW would allocate an electric pickup to the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant and battery cell manufacturing to Lordstown, according to a person familiar with the matter.

One of the UAW's top priorities in negotiations was gaining product investments for the four U.S. plants GM planned to idle: Lordstown Assembly in Ohio; Baltimore Operations in Maryland; and Detroit-Hamtramck and Warren Transmission in Michigan. The two sides failed to reach a tentative agreement before the contract expired late Saturday night and the UAW struck GM at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

While most electric vehicles have been compact compliance cars or sporty luxury rides, several electric pickups are in development, including from Ford, Tesla and Rivian. An electric truck would join planned Cadillac models toward the Detroit automaker's promised 20 new electric vehicles globally by 2023.

In April, GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker would build an electric full-size pickup. The company has said it plans to invest $8 billion to build electric and self-driving vehicles.

The 4.1 million-square-foot Detroit-Hamtramck plant had 729 hourly and 74 salaried workers on one shift.

Manufacturing battery cells in Lordstown would not affect the potential for a sale to Lordstown Motors, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations. The newly formed company, led by former Workhorse Group Inc. CEO Steve Burns, is working to buy the factory.

After the UAW said it would go on strike at the end of the day, GM issued a statement saying it had offered $7 billion in investments, including unspecified solutions for the unallocated assembly plants, as well as wage and lump-sum increases each year, ratification bonuses of $8,000 and improved profit sharing.