US: General Motors Is Boosting Its Hiring

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
May 10, 2011 at 6:50 pm UTC

The biggest automaker in the United States, General Motors, says it is boosting its hiring in a $2 billion plan that will expand the company's production of all-electric cars.

GM said Tuesday it plans to add or preserve 4,200 jobs in the company's first significant expansion since emerging from bankruptcy nearly two years ago. GM said the increased production will occur at 17 facilities in eight states, but that nearly half of it will be near its world headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.

GM could surpass Toyota as the world's biggest automaker this year, with the Japanese automaker experiencing significant production problems in the aftermath of the country's March earthquake and tsunami. The GM expansion is a sign the company believes that car sales will continue to improve, especially for all-electric vehicles at a time when gas prices in the U.S. are at a three-year high.

In another favorable note for the U.S. economy, the government reported that wholesale inventories climbed by 1.1 percent in March. That indicates that companies are adding to their stockpiles to meet the demand for increased sales, which were up 2.9 percent for the month.