GM lays off 1,700 workers at Midwest plants amid slower EV demand

NEW YORK — General Motors is laying off about 1,700 workers across manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio, as the auto giant adjusts to slowing demand for electric vehicles.

The Detroit News first reported the cuts Wednesday — covering about 1,200 jobs at an all-electric plant in the Detroit area and 550 workers at Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Ohio, in addition to hundreds of other employees slated for temporary layoffs. GM later confirmed the news to the Associated Press.

“In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, General Motors is realigning EV capacity,” the company said in a statement, while maintaining it “remains committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint.”

GM added that Ultium Cells also is “adjusting production in response to recent changes in customer plant demand.” The company said that battery cell production in Warren, Ohio, and a facility in Spring Hill, Tenn., would be paused beginning in January.

Per the the Detroit News, 850 workers at the Ohio plant are slated for “temporary layoffs,” along with another 700 employees in Tennessee.

GM says these affected employees “may be eligible to continue receiving a significant portion of their regular wages or salary, plus benefits.” The Michigan-based company said it will use the pause to make upgrades at both facilities, and it anticipates resuming operations by the middle of next year.

The dwindling EV adoption cited by GM on Wednesday arrives shortly after a recent expiration of federal tax credits. Before Sept. 30, new EVs came with a $7,500 federal tax credit, and up to $4,000 for used vehicles. But prospective buyers no longer can qualify. The incentive was ended as part of the massive tax and spending cut bill Congress passed in June.

GM also has downsized other parts of its workforce recently. In the last week, that's included layoffs of 200 salaried employees — mostly computer-aided design engineers in Detroit — and another 300 job cuts in Georgia, where the company is shutting an IT Innovation Center.