GM Slashes EV Workforce After Trump Ends Tax Breaks
Layoffs Hit Detroit, Ohio and Tennessee as Company Reassesses Output
Key Takeaways:
- General Motors laid off about 5,500 workers across three plants as it reassesses electric vehicle production following President Donald Trump’s removal of key EV tax credits.
- The move reflects slowing EV demand and a broader pullback after GM invested $35 billion in plug-in technology and took a $1.6 billion third-quarter charge tied to its EV business.
- GM said some employees may return early next year, but many layoffs are indefinite as the company evaluates future production needs and further financial impacts.
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General Motors Co. notified about 5,500 employees across three plants that they are being laid off at least temporarily as the carmaker reassesses electric vehicle production in the wake of President Donald Trump’s move to eliminate crucial tax credits.
The total includes 3,400 workers that were furloughed over the summer at its Factory Zero plant in Detroit, where the electric Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Hummer EVs are made. The company said Oct. 29 it will assess how much production it needs and bring back about 1,200 of those employees in January when the plant returns to work on one shift. The remaining 2,200 will be furloughed indefinitely.
In a related move, GM laid off 1,400 Ultium battery plant workers in Warren, Ohio, and 710 in Spring Hill, Tenn. Company spokesman Kevin Kelly said 850 may come back to work in Ohio in May and 550 of the layoffs are considered indefinite. The Tennessee layoffs are temporary, he said.
The cuts reflect a broader retrenchment by GM, which has moved to cut electric vehicle production amid a sharp slowdown in the market. EV sales growth had been slowing even before the Trump administration ended consumer tax credits of up to $7,500 per vehicle in September.
GM had beenÌýlobbyingÌýto keep the credits in place and have been trying to make their EVs cheaper to prop up demand. Under CEO Mary Barra, the company invested $35 billion in plug-in technology, a strategy that has been significantly downgraded recently.
GM took a $1.6 billionÌýchargeÌýin the third quarter related to its EV investments and warned there would be more in the fourth quarter as the automaker continues to reassess how much production it will need.
The latest cuts come days after GMÌýeliminatedÌýmore than 200 salaried positions, mostly at its Tech Center in Warren, Mich.
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