General Motors announced Friday it will invest $918 million in four of its plants to build its sixth-generation small block V-8 engine and to support electric vehicle production.

The Flint Engine Operations plant in Flint, Mich., will get $579 million for new V-8 engine production. GM will invest $216 million in its Bay City, Mich., GPS plant to support Flint engine production.

Defiance, Ohio will get a $55 million investment, including $8 million to "support future EV strategies." And in Rochester, N.Y., GM plans to invest $68 million, including $56 million for battery pack cooling lines for EV production.

"These investments, coupled with the hard work and dedication of our team members in Flint, Bay City, Rochester and Defiance, enable us to build world-class products for our customers and provide job security at these plants for years to come," GM Executive Vice President Gerald Johnson said in a statement.

GM has more than 50 assembly, stamping, propulsion and component plants and parts distribution centers in the United States.

The auto maker said it has invested more than $37 billion in U.S. manufacturing since 2013, including the Ultium Cells joint venture EV battery plants.

In December, workers at the Ultium Cells in Warren, Ohio, became the first joint-venture EV facility to join the United Auto Workers union.

"Our union celebrates the announcement of these new investments into our GM facilities," UAW President Ray Curry said in a statement. "The skill and dedication of UAW members are a key part of GM's success, and this investment recognizes that our members will remain a vital part of GM's future."

The U.S. Department of Energy reached an agreement in December on a $2.5 billion loan for a partnership between General Motors and LG Energy Solutions to construct three EV battery facilities in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

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