GM’s Saturn Will Hire 1,000 at Tennessee Plant

General Motors’ Saturn Corp. subsidiary said Thursday it will hire 1,000 workers this year at its plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., and will spend about $1 billion on tools, machinery and equipment.

Saturn now employs 500 workers at the Spring Hill complex. Eventually, the plant will employ 3,000 workers, when production of small cars begins in mid-1990.

Saturn President Richard (Skip) LeFauve said the company completed construction of 4 million square feet of manufacturing space in 1988. The company this year plans to spend $1 billion to equip the plant.

He said Saturn has contributed more than $140 million to the local economy in goods, services, salaries and taxes since Spring Hill was selected as the plant site in 1985, $57 million alone in 1988.

Spring Hill was picked as the site after one of the most publicized competitions for a manufacturing plant in U.S. history.