While the industry continued grappling with the fallout over coronavirus and a threatened global economic slowdown, General Motors was pulling in the opposite direction. It disclosed this week that it will be adding 1,200 jobs at it plants in Lansing, Michigan, to augment increased demand for its midsize SUVs and clear the way for the coming introduction of two new Cadillac sedans. The immediate change will see a third shift added at GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly, which opened in 2006, creating 800 new positions for workers who will build the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave.

The rest of the story is that 400 new positions will be created at Lansing Grand River Assembly, where the all-new Cadillacs will be produced, the staffing increase becoming effective in the second quarter of 2020. Lansing Grand River Assembly already builds the Chevrolet Camaro, along with the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 families, along with their high-performance V-series variants. The changes in Lansing, where GM has been assembling motor vehicles for more than 110 years, is part of a GM capital-investment program that’s seen more than $1 billion spent on assembly operations at its facilities in the city.