WASHINGTON-Counties with the heaviest reliance on manufacturing income are posting some of the biggest employment gains of the nation’s early economic recovery. This is a big change from just half a year ago, when some economists worried that widespread layoffs by U.S. manufacturers might be part of an irreversible trend in that sector. MORE
HAMTRAMCK, MI-GM will invest $336 million upgrading its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant for production of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car. MORE
SHANNON, MS-General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Div., a manufacturer of advanced linear motors for electromagnetic aircraft launching systems, has broken ground on a 50,000-square-foot expansion at its assembly plant here. MORE
CHATTANOOGA, TN-Volkswagen officials say construction of the new assembly plant here is on schedule and more than 1,000 employees are expected to be onsite early next year. MORE
FORT WAYNE, IN-A year after being asked, Fort Wayne and Allen County announced plans Thursday to provide $2 million of additional incentives to help General Motors Co.’s local assembly plant. MORE
INGERSOLL, ON-General Motors and Suzuki Motor Corp. are ending their CAMI joint assembly operation in Canada, with Suzuki selling its 50 percent stake to GM in a move that severs another tie between the partners. MORE
LOS ANGELES-Plenty of vehicles are dazzling motorheads at the Los Angeles Auto this week, including the Chevy Cruze and VW’s new diesel hybrid, which can achieve 70 mpg. MORE
KITCHENER, ON-Solar module maker Canadian Solar Inc. is preparing to establish a manufacturing facility in Ontario that will create 500 direct jobs to take advantage of a provincial green-energy program that mandates local content. Canadian Solar said the new facility will be capable of manufacturing 200 megawatts of solar modules annually. MORE
DOWNEY, CA-The City Council here unanimously approved an agreement last week to lure Tesla Motors’ electric car manufacturing plant to the former site of a NASA plant that helped develop the Apollo program and the space shuttle fleet. The city hopes that the car factory will bring $21 million in city revenues over 15 years, create about 1,200 jobs and help revitalize its reputation as Southern California’s high-tech hub. MORE
GOSHEN, IN-Keystone RV will add a new factory for its popular Montana brand, and increase production of the product by 60 percent. That means just a few months after they added 300 new jobs this fall, 100 new jobs will be coming to here. MORE
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