Columbus Dispatch – General Motors is putting out “help wanted” signs.

GM said yesterday that it will add or keep 4,000 jobs in the U.S. by hiring new employees or calling back furloughed workers in the next year and a half. It’s the latest sign that that the company and U.S. auto industry are recovering from a sales slump and bankruptcies.

“Those jobs impact and reverberate in our economy,” said General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, who spoke at a transmission plant in Toledo, where as many as 400 workers will be hired or retained and eight-speed transmissions will be added to the production line.

GM will spend $2 billion at 17 plants in eight states to create the new work. Most of the investment will be in the Midwest, but few other details were released.

It’s also unclear how many of the positions will be new hires. Many will be existing jobs retained with the introduction of new cars and trucks. The automaker will announce in the next few months which plants are getting new investments.

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