Just before starting the production of the Corvette C7 in 2013, GM added 150 new jobs at its Bowling Green Corvette plant. That number rose to 250 very next year. Right now, as the C7 spends its last days on the Bowling Green production lines, GM announced that it would add a new workforce of 400 workers just before the mid-engine 2020 Corvette C8 production starts later in 2019. The move of adding more jobs is a commonality with the introduction of the new cars. Especially ones that make a significant departure in terms of design and underlying architecture compared to its predecessors. The C7 was a significant departure compared to the C6. Actually, it shared only two parts with it - the cabin filter and the rear latch for the removable roof panel. On the other hand, I feel that the C8 will share more with the C7 despite such a profound change in its form. The added complexity of the new design could be a part of the reason for the significant workforce increase.

GM Expects A Massive Demand For The Mid-Engine 2020 Corvette C8

With 400 new hourly jobs, Bowling Green Corvette production plant will have a workforce of a bit more than 1,300 workers. That's including the Performance Build Center located at the premises. There, you can assemble your engine and get a 100,000-mile warranty on it, too.

Right now, the Corvette enthusiasts are abuzz over the additional workforce for the C8. Some comments read that GM had to do it to improve quality control, and others say that they would not touch the first-year Corvette C8 with a "pole stick."

See, every time new Corvette lands, the demand for it surges drastically. We have seen that with the Corvette C7 too. Its sales were the highest the first year, later slowly dwindling.

Corvette C7 Sales Numbers

The additional workforce will enable the creation of the second shift at the Bowling Green facility considerably increasing the output. In essence, thanks to the extra 400 workers buyers will not have to cope with the same problems as Tesla Model 3 buyer - insane delivery times and various delays.

This news comes as a bit of surprise as basically at the same time Honda is shutting down one of their second shifts that worked on the sedans in Ohio. Strange times we live in.

Conclusion

GM began Corvette production at the Bowling Green plant in 1981. Since then, it produced precisely one million Corvettes there. However, the Corvette is in continuous production since 1954 which made it the world’s longest-running, continuously produced sports car (and a passenger car in fact). GM produced 1.6 million units in total.

Fully equipped for treating carbon fiber, aluminum, and other materials, the new body shop suggests that we will see a lot more carbon fiber cues on the Corvette in the future. Some of the 400 new workers will end up in the paint shop complementing and improving the workforce.

Further Reading

Read our speculative review on the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8.

Chevy Adds Hundreds Of Workers To 2020 C8 Corvette Production

Everything We Know About The Mid-Engined 2020Chevy C8 Corvette