Gov. Doyle: Governor Joins with General Motors to Announce $175 Million Investment in Janesville Assembly Plant

Contacts:
Kelly Patten, GM Janesville Communications, 608-741-3290

Dan Flores, GM Vehicle Manufacturing Communications,
248-874-7715 or 313-418-2374

Jessica Erickson, Governor’s Office, 608-261-2156

State Provides $5 Million in Grants to Assist GM with Future Truck
Production

JANESVILLE – Governor Jim Doyle joined with officials from
General Motors Corporation (GM) and UAW Local 95 today to announce that GM
will invest $175 million into its Janesville truck assembly plant, securing
future truck production at the plant for today’s and tomorrow’s workers.

“Today is a great day for Janesville, Rock County, and the
State of Wisconsin,” Governor Doyle said. “Because of a commitment by GM, a
partnership with the state, and the hard work of so many employees,
Janesville’s plant is receiving a major investment that will move our state
forward. I said it in my State of the State Address, and we can see it
again here today – Wisconsin is back on track again.”

Over the past year, the Doyle Administration has begun to
lay the foundation for economic growth and position Wisconsin to create jobs
again, by balancing the state’s $3.2 billion deficit, holding the line on
taxes, repealing the tax on creating jobs, and implementing the most
aggressive regulatory reform in the Midwest.

“My Administration has been working very closely with GM and
union officials to ensure that these jobs remain in Wisconsin,” Governor
Doyle said. “We have some of the best workers in the world at GM
Janesville, and we must continue to invest in them. That’s why a major part
of the state’s package for GM is worker training. And that’s why we need to
pass my worker training initiatives so other companies throughout the state
can invest in their workers and create jobs.”

With the investment, GM will upgrade the plant by renovating
and retooling the plant’s Body Shop and General Assembly areas in
preparation for the new vehicles. The renovations will begin in the 2004
calendar year. Specific product information and timing on the new vehicles
will be released at a later date.

To encourage GM to make this investment in Wisconsin, the
Governor’s Administration is providing the company with a $5 million
incentive package, including a $2 million grant from the Department of
Commerce, a $1 million grant from the Department of Workforce Development, a
$1 million grant from the Department of Administration to help with the cost
of acquiring new, energy-efficient technology, and a $1 million grant from
the Wisconsin Technical College System to provide training to workers.

“GM’s $175 million investment marks a great day for GM
Janesville, because it secures the future of the men and women who work at
the plant for years to come,” said Joe Spielman, GM vice president and
general manager of Vehicle Manufacturing. “The men and women of Janesville
have earned this investment through their commitment to continuous
improvement on important measures like the plant’s health and safety,
quality, productivity, and cost performance.”

The project retains 3,900 positions.

GM Janesville Assembly built nearly 258,000 vehicles in the
2003 calendar year. The assembly plant currently builds versions of the
Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.

The plant, which opened in 1919, employs approximately 3,600
hourly and 300 salaried employees. Hourly employees at the facility are
represented by UAW Local 95.