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Officials: Shreveport GM Plant Being Sold

Shreveport and Caddo Parish officials say the former General Motors assembly plant has a buyer that plans thousands of vehicle assembly jobs with good pay. Assistant Parish Administrator Randy Lucky says the buyer expects to bring 1,500 jobs by the end of the second quarter and 3,000 within four years.

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- Shreveport and Caddo Parish officials say the former General Motors assembly plant has a buyer that plans thousands of vehicle assembly jobs with good pay.

Assistant Parish Administrator Randy Lucky says the buyer expects to bring 1,500 jobs by the end of the second quarter and 3,000 within four years, with assembly line workers getting about $37.50 an hour.

A news conference with details is scheduled Thursday. The first word of a buyer came at Wednesday's Caddo Parish Commission work session, KSLA-TV reported (http://bit.ly/Uo7o4R).

Lucky and Caddo Parish Administrator Woody Wilson say it's a U.S. company that plans to make vehicles. Lucky says it is not Ford, GM or Chrysler, and is not affiliated with a union.

The plant has been closed since late August.

GM officially handed it over in early December to the trust that took over 89 GM facilities in 14 states after the automaker declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2011.

RACER Trust redevelopment manager, Bruce Rasher would say only that Thursday's gathering is for a major announcement.

Over three decades in Shreveport, the plant made Chevrolet S-10s and Canyons, the Hummer H3 and GMC Colorado truck. It made a total of 4,853,693 vehicles.

At its peak production in 1984, three shifts of workers kept the 3.17 million-square-foot plant going around the clock.

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover said he'll be at Thursday's news conference. On Wednesday, The Times reported (http://bit.ly/WfgfE4), he tweeted (at)MayorGlover: "Honored and excited to welcome (at)BRasher_RACER and the RACER Trust back to (hash)Shreveport. (hash)OpportunityIsComing!"

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