LORDSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it is bringing 1,200 autoworkers back to work this summer to start producing the Chevrolet Cruze compact car at a factory in northeast Ohio.
GM officials said roughly 400 of the jobs at the Lordstown factory will go to laid-off GM workers in the area, and the remaining positions will be open to GM employees across the U.S.
The jobs will be added to a third assembly-line shift sometime in the third quarter.
The Cruze, due out later this year, is a key product for GM as it tries to compete in the growing market for small cars. Production was recently put on hold because GM wasn't happy with how it drove.
The Lordstown factory, about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland, also makes the Chevrolet Cobalt small car.
With the additional jobs, the plant's work force will grow from 3,300 to 4,500.
The sleeker, lighter car will be targeted at younger entry-level buyers as well as those seeking fuel economy. It's supposed to get around 40 mpg on the highway.
But GM postponed the Cruze's April build date because the company wasn't happy with its performance, especially with the six-speed automatic transmission.
Since July, GM has said it is restoring a total of 5,500 jobs at plants across the nation.
