General Motors plans to invest more than $51 million to install state-of-the-art equipment at its Bedford, Indiana aluminum die casting foundry to support the manufacture of drive unit castings for the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV and other current casting applications.
The all-electric Silverado, powered by the Ultium Platform, will debut on Jan. 5, 2022 at CES – the world’s most influential technology event.
The renovation work will begin immediately at the facility. Earlier this year, the 1 million square-foot site began producing electric drive unit castings for the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and 2024 GMC HUMMER EV SUV. Production of the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup will begin this month at GM’s Factory ZERO assembly plant, located in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan.
“Our Bedford operation is one of the leading aluminum die casting facilities in the world and this investment is a testament of our confidence in the employees at Bedford,” said Phil Kienle, GM vice president of North America Manufacturing and Labor Relations. “This investment is another example of the company bringing along our workforce in our journey to an all-electric future while we strengthen our current products.”
GM’s Bedford plant opened in 1942 and is a leader in aluminum die casting capabilities. The site’s nearly 900 hourly and salaried workers manage semi-permanent mold and die casting processes that produce cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, transmission cases, structural components, and drive unit housings used in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. Bedford’s union team members are represented by UAW Local 440 and IBEW Local 16.
