Detroit ? General Motors Corp.’s string of labor problems could soon be coming to an end with a tentative agreement reached Tuesday at a key assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan.

GM reached the deal on a local contract with United Auto Workers Local 31 at the plant Tuesday evening, company spokesman Dan Flores said.

About 2,500 workers have been on strike at the factory, which makes the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu as well as the Saturn Aura, since May 5. Although the UAW settled its national contract with GM last fall, local contracts that govern work rules, overtime and other items are negotiated at each location.

Local 31 President Jeff Manning said workers will hear information about the deal Wednesday and vote the same day. When they return to work depends on the outcome, but he said the local leadership is recommending approval.

“We believe this will work,” he said of the deal. “It’s a great relief. All our members are professional auto workers and they would like to go back to work. That’s what they want to do.”

Flores said he did not know when production would resume.

“We’re certainly pleased that we have a tentative agreement,” he said. “Obviously, Malibu and Aura are very important products for us.”

Industry analysts have said the strike in Kansas City and one at a key crossover vehicle plant in Delta Township, Mich., were designed to draw GM into a long, bitter strike by the UAW against parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. Union officials, including UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, denied any connection and said the strikes were over local contract disputes.

The UAW and American Axle reached a tentative agreement Friday, and several locals voted Monday to approve the pact. A large local in Detroit votes Thursday.

Production resumed Monday in Delta Township after workers ratified a tentative agreement reached May 15.

GM said it lost $800 million in the first quarter and produced 230,000 fewer vehicles due to the strike.

The mid-size Malibu made at the Kansas City factory is a huge bright spot for GM as it tries to catch buyers fleeing from SUVs and pickup trucks due to high gas prices.