Orion Assembly is a 4,300,000 sq ft (400,000 m) General Motors vehicle assembly plant located in Orion Township, Michigan . From late 2025, the plant is slated to assemble battery electric pickup trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Sierra EV . As of September 2019, the plant has approximately 1,032 salaried and hourly employees. It assumed operations of Buick City , and Pontiac Assembly .
21-529: Orion Assembly commenced production on December 1, 1983 with the 1985 model C-body cars. Orion Assembly produced the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 until 2009, when the plant was idled due to the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization of 2009. The plant in suburban Detroit was saved from closure through a $ 1 billion grants and tax incentives from the state of Michigan, local municipalities and
42-468: A 113.8 in wheelbase. Most C-body vehicles were ultimately replaced with cars on the related G , H , and K platform designations. The Cadillac Series 75 limousine briefly made its return on this platform, stretched by 23.6" to a wheelbase of 134.4". Cadillac used the platform though 1993; Buick heavily revised the Electra, becoming the first generation Buick Park Avenue (1991-1996), while still using
63-460: A ceremonial dedication speech at the plant. Also in attendance were Michigan Governor James Blanchard , Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Don Riegle , Representative (from the local district) William Broomfield and notable General Motors executives, including chairman and CEO Roger Smith . During his speech, Reagan commended both GM and the United Auto Workers for their progress in
84-657: A community relations campaign in Orion Township to garner support. While groundbreaking was intended to happen in June, the construction of the factory was briefly delayed by an ACRE referendum opposing the construction of the factory, which gathered enough signatures to be placed on the ballot. At the August 6, 1980 election in Orion Township, the construction of the plant was approved by 90% of voters, and groundbreaking took place shortly after. On July 5, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave
105-609: A new subcompact vehicle from China. Orion's bid was selected over those from plants in Wisconsin ( Janesville Assembly ), and Tennessee ( Spring Hill Assembly ). On March 22, 2019, GM announced an additional investment of $ 300 million and an addition of 400 workers to build a new electric vehicle at Orion. This was later revealed to be a slightly larger version of the Bolt to be known as the Bolt EUV. In 2023, GM announced that it will discontinue
126-732: The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 , 1960 , 1964 , and 1968 , as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . After retirement in 1993, Broomfield started a foundation that supports various charities in southeast Michigan, including the efforts to cure cancer , spina bifida and Alzheimer's , and the Salvation Army . A longtime resident of Lake Orion, Michigan , he last lived in Kensington, Maryland . In September 2000, Congress designated
147-577: The U.S. state of Michigan . Broomfield, the son of Scevillian C. and Fern Broomfield was born in Royal Oak, Michigan . His father was a dentist. He graduated from Royal Oak High School in 1940 and attended Michigan State College (now Michigan State University ) at East Lansing . During World War II , he served in the United States Army Air Corps . After the war, he engaged in the real-estate and property-management business. Broomfield
168-453: The 19th District, 1973–1983 and the 18th District, 1983–1993. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the 103rd Congress . The 18th District was discontinued following the 1990 census and for the most part redistricted as the 11th which elected Joe Knollenberg in 1993. During his tenure in Congress, Broomfield served as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and
189-470: The C Platform; and Oldsmobile marketed C Platform derivatives through 1990, notably the Oldsmobile Touring Sedan . The H platform and C platform were largely identical, sharing the same 110.8 in wheelbase, most bodywork, interior details, glass and engines. William Broomfield William S. Broomfield , (April 28, 1922 – February 20, 2019) was an American politician from
210-555: The Oldsmobile achieving a .383 drag coefficient. GM's C platform and H platform were largely identical, sharing the same 110.8 in wheelbase, most bodywork, interior details, glass and engines. Manufacture began with the C platform in late 1983, first at two purpose-built plants, Wentzville Assembly and Orion Assembly — later moving to Lansing Car Assembly as well as Flint and Willow Run assembly plants. Significantly shorter, narrower, lighter and more fuel-efficient than
231-601: The Royal Oak Post Office at 200 West 2nd Street in Royal Oak, Michigan , as the William S. Broomfield Post Office Building . On December 30, 2006, Broomfield collapsed at the state funeral memorial for former U.S. President Gerald Ford at the United States Capitol , bringing the ceremonies to a temporary pause. The reason given for the collapse was exhaustion . Broomfield's wife Jane died on March 21, 2013, at
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#1732868593719252-732: The automotive industry. From late 2025: 42°43′02″N 83°15′43″W / 42.71719°N 83.26196°W / 42.71719; -83.26196 GM C platform (FWD) GM C platform, also known as the C-Body , was a front wheel drive (FWD) automobile platform used by General Motors ' Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile divisions for their full-sized automobiles from 1985 through 1996, sharing unibody construction, transverse engine configuration, rack and pinion steering and four-wheel independent suspension. C-Bodies used, V6 or V8 engines, GM's TMH440 transaxle (initially), unibody construction — and all had been aerodynamically refined, with
273-831: The federal government. Under an agreement with the UAW , the plant began assembling the successor to the South Korean-built Chevrolet Aveo , the Chevrolet Sonic , in 2011 — making it the only subcompact car currently assembled in America. Later in 2011, the plant began manufacturing the Buick Verano . In the past, GM assembled subcompact vehicles in Mexico or in South Korea due to lower cost labor rates in those countries. Under
294-460: The lurch with the EV production pushback. They get job offers at other Michigan facilities, like Factory Zero, which is gearing up to boost its production next year. After GM announced the plan to construct a new factory, opposition to the plant in Orion Township came from three separate groups: those who disliked the fact that GM had selected the site without first notifying township officials (a land option
315-554: The new agreement with the UAW, GM used domestic laborers earning less than under previous contracts and slimmed down labor rules to make assembling subcompact vehicles in the US economically competitive. For younger workers, wages were cut in half from the standard $ 28/hour. For the first time, parts supplier employees worked alongside of GM workers on the assembly line. They made as little as $ 10/hour. This arrangement replaced GM's previous plan to import
336-637: The platform they replaced, the C Platform vehicles were noted for having nearly the same key interior dimensions as their predecessors and a much more nearly flat passenger compartment floor — albeit with thinner seats and dramatically less upper tumblehome , locating windshield as well as side glass closer to passengers. Introduced in early 1984, the models were marketed as the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight (11th gen), Buick Electra (6th gen) and Cadillac Deville (6th gen) and Fleetwood (1985-90).. Cadillac would later introduce C Body models with
357-692: The production of Chevrolet Bolt at the end of 2023, with that the Orion plant will be reopened as the Orion EV Assembly in 2024, to produce electric pickup trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Sierra EV . With $ 4 billion in additional investment at the facility, GM CEO Mary Barra announced that "employment will nearly triple (from 2023) and we'll have a companywide capacity to build 600,000 electric trucks annually." GM has pushed back
378-529: The production schedule for its electric trucks at the Orion Township plant in Michigan. Originally set to start in late 2024, the production of models like the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV is now slated for the end of 2025. The company says the delay is due to a need to align its investment strategy with the slower-than-expected uptake in EV demand. Hourly workers at GM's Orion plant are not being left in
399-661: Was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives , 1949–1954, serving as speaker pro tempore in 1953. He served in the Michigan State Senate in 1955 and 1956. In 1956, Broomfield was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 18th District to the United States House of Representatives for the 85th and to the seventeen succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1957, to January 3, 1993. Due to redistricting following U.S. Censuses, Broomfield served
420-476: Was previously given to Grand Trunk Railway by township officials without first informing the public, which then was negotiated for GM by Argonaut Realty); pilots who opposed its location on land which was at the time partially occupied by the Oakland-Pontiac Airport ; and from the community group Area Citizens for a Rural Environment (ACRE) who opposed the factory over environmental concerns. GM instated
441-480: Was ranking member from 1975 until his retirement in 1993. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving Republican then serving in the House of Representatives. During his years of service in the House, Broomfield garnered praise from both sides of the aisle for his ethics, honesty and statesmanship. When he retired, he left behind a legacy of bipartisan friendship and cooperation. Broomfield voted in favor of
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