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GM, UAW poaching Nissan workers in Tennessee

General Motors and the United Auto Workers are going on a recruitment drive at the Spring Hill factory in Tennessee, and they're hoping to poach some skilled workers from Nissan's nearby plant in Smyrna, TN. The General and the union even bought a billboard advertising for industrial electricians near the Japanese automaker's facility, according to the Daily News Journal. The reason for the billboard was simple. "GM was short of electricians," said Tim Stannard, the president of the UAW local at Spring Hill, to the Daily News Journal. The factory currently builds the Chevrolet Equinox but has a contract to assemble the next generation of Ecotec engines and the Cadillac XT5, which replaces the SRX. Thanks to the $185-million deal, employment there is expected to double by May 2016, according to Stannard, with roughly 1,800 additional union jobs. Beyond just several billboards, GM has job postings online for the Spring Hill plant looking for workers with specific skills. There has already been some interest in the positions among Nissan employees, Stannard indicated. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research, the average GM worker currently makes $58 an hour, including benefits. Comparatively, Nissan pays an average of $42 an hour with benefits. The General's number could change in the coming weeks because its contract with the UAW is about to expire, and higher wages are among the major negotiating points.

J.D. Power: Mini, Lexus again offer most satisfying sales experience

JD Power has released its annual Sales Satisfaction Index Study, and once again Mini and Lexus have taken top honors. Overall, buyers are more satisfied with the auto-buying sales experience than they were last year, with those surveyed reporting an average score of 664 points on a 1,000-point scale. That's up from 648 in 2011. Dealer satisfaction also increased by five points over last year as well.
All told, Lexus brought home an index score of 737, which was high enough to put it atop the luxury brands for the second year in a row. JD Power says Infiniti came in second in that category with a score of 728 and Cadillac rounded out the podium with it's rating of 725. Speaking of Infiniti, that brand saw the single largest jump in sales satisfaction of any brand on the survey, popping up 52 index points over 2011.
Among mass-market brands, Mini ranked highest with a score of 712, followed closely by Buick with 706 and GMC farther down the line with 683. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

Cadillac CT6 hybrid likely to appear in Shanghai

Cadillac is poised to reveal a hybrid version of the CT6 sedan later this month at the Shanghai Motor Show. Rumors have swirled of the sedan's pending reveal, and General Motors product chief Mark Reuss reportedly confirmed its existence last fall during an investor conference. On Wednesday, Reuss again said that GM is working on the hybrid CT6, and when asked by Autoblog, he hinted at the pending debut. "We've really got to wait until we finish rounding out the portfolio," he said. "The Shanghai show is where you should look for all of it. So stay tuned." A Cadillac spokesman declined to comment, but confirmed "we will add variants." The brand has already announced two V6 engines and is looking to expand the line. Reuss also said GM has considered a V-Series model for the CT6, but it's focusing on launching the four-cylinder and V6-powered sedans first and promoting V-Series versions of the CTS and ATS that arrive this year. "The [CT6] architecture is certainly capable of doing it," he said. "The question is who's going to buy the CT6? What kind of person? And do we need a V-Series off of that is the question we haven't answered yet. It's certainly capable of doing it ... we've certainly thought about it." Details of the hybrid powertrain aren't known, but it could use plug-in technology. Chevrolet announced the 2016 Malibu will get a hybrid model that employs electric powertrain features from the new generation of the Volt. For the CT6, electric-vehicle technologies would likely be used to extend range and aid the performance of the conventional engine. Related Video: