General Motors (GM) will increase production of its light-duty trucks at the Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana, the automaker announced in a webcast to employees Thursday, viewed by Reuters. The decision comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday that the United States will enforce 25% tariffs on foreign auto imports.
The administration’s bold trade policy is designed to strengthen national security, reduce reliance on foreign goods, and encourage companies to shift investments and manufacturing back to the U.S.
Following the tariff announcements, GM stock fell 4.3% on Thursday.
During GM’s Q4 2024 earnings call in January, CEO Mary Barra suggested that the company could pivot some production to U.S. facilities to help offset some of the tariff’s impact. However, while the company can shift some manufacturing back to America, building new American plants will require years of planning and investments. In the meantime, tariffs could add thousands of dollars to the cost of each imported vehicle, making short-term adjustments critical.
Approximately half of GM’s large pickup trucks are assembled at facilities in Mexico and Canada. The Fort Wayne assembly plant currently manufactures the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.
To support the production increase, GM will add 225 to 250 temporary positions at the Indiana plant. Plant director Dennys Pimenta told employees during the webcast that overtime shifts may also be introduced to meet the demand.
As part of the operational changes, Fort Wayne will temporarily halt production from April 22-25 to implement the necessary adjustments.
