DETROIT -

GM announced today that it is adding two shifts and about 2,500 jobs at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant as part of the company’s plan to create or retain about 4,000 jobs and invest $2 billion in 17 manufacturing facilities in eight states.

The new jobs will be focused around building the new Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan and the next-generation Impala large sedan alongside the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera electric cars. The jobs will be filled by laid-off UAW members with the possibility of new hires to follow.

"Filling this plant with new work is very satisfying because GM is dedicated to helping rebuild this city," GM North America president Mark Reuss said at the plant Wednesday.

"We are confident in the flexibility of the plant, the excellence of our workers and the great cars assembled here,” he continued.

On top of the additional shifts, the company announced a $69 million investment in tooling and equipment to support the next-generation Impala. In April 2010, GM also announced a $121 million investment to support Malibu production.

The new Malibu will be built in Detroit and Fairfax, Kan., as well as China and Korea and will be sold in more than 100 countries on six continents.

After a four-week shutdown for the plant, GM announced last week that the the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will exclusively build Volt and Ampera electric cars with extended-range capability for the rest of the year.

Exports of Volt and Ampera to Canada, Europe and China are included in the total 16,000 electric vehicles being built for the full 2011 calendar year. The Volt/Ampera production goal for 2012 is up to 60,000 with three-quarters of those to be sold in the United States.

"Given the competitive nature of the auto industry in the United States, the bar for success is placed very high," said Joe Ashton, UAW vice president-GM Department. "The members of UAW Local 22 soar over the bar every day by demonstrating their flexibility, hard work, and their intense focus on the customer. 

The Detroit-Hamtramck plant currently has 1,121 hourly and salaried employees.

"This workforce understands that meeting our diverse and sophisticated customers’ need for high-quality and reliable transportation is our most important task,"  Ashton concluded.