General Motors intends to expand production of electric vehicles to Mexico in 2023, and that has angered the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Kallanish reports.

The union that represents US hourly workers considers the move “a slap in the face” to its union members and US taxpayers, says UAW official Terry Dittes in a statement.

The Michigan-based automaker says it plans to spend in excess of $1 billion to make the Ramos Arizpe complex in Mexico’s Coahuila state the fifth location where it produces EVs. The other locations are Spring Hill in Tennessee; Detroit/Hamtramck and Lake Orion, both in Michigan; and Ingersoll in Ontario.

The news was the company’s first announcement about EV production in Mexico.

GM says its initial investment is for a new paint shop and innovative technology that will begin operations in June 2021 and expanding the assembly and global propulsion systems plants. It also reports that it will build batteries and electrical components at Ramos Arizpe, starting later this year.

It was not immediately clear what EV models would be produced at the Mexican plant. It currently produces the gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Blazer, plus engines and transmissions. Those current models are sold in the US, but GM did not address whether the Mexican EVs would be sold in the United States.

That Mexican plant currently employs about 5,600 workers. A third shift will be added at the plant to produce perhaps two EV models, according to media reports.

In a statement, Francisco Garza, ceo of GM operations in Mexico, thanked the Mexican federal and state governments for their unspecified support for the Mexican expansion.

GM has said it plans to produce all electric vehicles by 2035 including at least 30 new EVs by 2025 under a $27 billion program.