General Motors (GM) is planning to cut more than 1,700 jobs at its battery cell and electric vehicle assembly plants to address sluggish EV adoption and an end to government incentives, according to a company statement viewed by The Detroit News.
“General Motors is realigning its EV capacity,” the statement said to compensate for “slower near-term EV adoption and evolving regulatory environment.”
By reducing production to just one shift, at least 1,200 employees will be let go at GM’s (GM) Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center which produces the Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Escalade IQ.
The company will also halt production at two of its three battery cell production facilities for six months. This will result in a loss of 550 jobs at its Warren, Ohio Ultium Battery Cell plant, and an additional 1500 slated for temporary layoff at both the Ohio and Spring Hill Tennessee Ultium facilities. The two Ultium plants, along with a third in Lansing, Michigan, are joint ventures with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution.
As recently as last Friday, General Motors (GM) said it would cut 200 of its salaried staff at its Michigan tech hub, its main campus for the development of autonomous vehicles, and the third corporate job reduction since the beginning of the year.