Reuters - GM to add 900 more jobs in Brazil to boost output

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GM to add 900 more jobs in Brazil to boost output

Friday, Mar 07, 2008 4:2PM UTC

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - General Motors Corp <GM.N> said on Friday it would add 900 more jobs than initially planned for a third shift at its main factory in Brazil to keep up with surging demand in Latin America's largest market.

Last month, the U.S. automaker outlined plans for a third shift and 600 new jobs at the plant in Sao Caetano do Sul on the outskirts of Sao Paulo to produce an additional 50,000 vehicles a year.

To keep up with red-hot demand, GM said it would now need a total of 1,500 new employees for the third shift, which it hopes to implement by June. Car and truck sales in Brazil jumped 52.5 percent in the first two months of the year over the same period in 2007, GM said.

Brazil has been a rare bright spot for GM in recent years, helping to offset hefty losses in the United States. GM returned to profit in the South American country in 2006 after eight years of losses, benefiting from an economic upswing that has helped revive the entire auto industry.

(Reporting by Todd Benson; editing by John Wallace)