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General Motors Co. will announce Thursday it will begin building the Buick Verano, a new compact car, at its Orion Township assembly plant next year, according to a person briefed on the matter.
This will be Buick's first shot at a compact since the Somerset Regal, which was discontinued more than 20 years ago.
The vehicle goes on sale in 2012 and is a luxury Buick version of the Chevrolet Cruze being built at Lordstown Assembly in Ohio.
GM North American President Mark Reuss and local politicians will speak Thursday at Orion Assembly, which is retooling to build smaller cars, including the Chevrolet Aveo going into production next year.
GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter declined to comment on the plant announcement.
The Cruze is making its way to dealerships now as GM strives to put smaller, more fuel efficient cars in its showrooms. The subcompact Aevo is on deck for 2011, followed by an even-smaller Chevy Spark for 2012.
GM said last year it would restore about 1,200 jobs at Orion Assembly, after considering building smaller cars at factories in Tennessee and Wisconsin. The last Pontiac rolled off the line last year at Orion Assembly. The Pontiac brand was phased out as part of the U.S. government-orchestrated bailout.
Once running again, Orion Assembly is expected to employ workers on two shifts, building about 160,000 vehicles a year.
Some recalled workers, however, won't be returning with full pay. Local union officials told members Sunday they had struck a deal with GM to implement a two-tier wage scale for recalled workers, based on seniority.
Sixty percent of Orion Assembly workers will receive the traditional tier one hourly wage of $28, while the remaining 40 percent will get about half that pay upon returning.
The UAW agreed to a two-tier wage structure during contract negotiations in 2007, but the tier two pay was to be only for new hires.
The Orion Assembly agreement marks the first time the lower pay level is being applied to current union members.
Revisions made in 2009 to the UAW-GM contract gave the union leeway in negotiating separate labor agreements for plants making small cars, a provision intended to help the automaker make money on them.
GM officials said this is good news for the plant — and certainly a second vehicle is a sign of the plant's viability — but they don't plan to announce additional jobs to build the Verano.
Buick, a brand long popular with older buyers, has been working hard to court younger, more affluent customers with refreshed versions of the Regal and LaCrosse sedan.
As of last month, Buick sales were up 58 percent for the year. They were up 96 percent compared to last month, the automaker reported.
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