AN AUTOMAKER has made sweeping changes after a continued push for electric vehicle sales.
The company said it would shut down some of its factories after quietly axing one of its popular gas-powered vehicles.
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Roughly 700 General Motors employees will be temporarily unemployed as the company deals with significant changes.
Employees who worked at GM factories in Detroit, Michigan, and Ingersoll, Ontario, will be placed on leave starting Monday, as per Yahoo! Finance.
“Factory Zero will adjust production to align with market dynamics,” GM spokesman Kevin Kelly told The Detroit News.
“Impacted employees will be placed on a temporary layoff and may be eligible for subpay and benefits in accordance with the GM-UAW national contract.“
At its Factory Zero plant in Detroit, GM manufactures the all-electric Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Hummer EV SUV and pickup, and all-electric Escalade IQ.
200 of the 4,500 employees who work at the Factory Zero plant will be laid off.
General Motors also stopped production at its CAMI Assembly facility in Ingersoll and is planning to lay off 500 workers.
The car company said these layoffs were a result of a disheartening dip in sales for the company’s all-electric BrightDrop delivery vans that are manufactured at the plant.
In the upcoming weeks, GM wants to prep the facility to produce its new line of 2026 electric vehicles.
It’s unclear if GM will bring back all 500 employees.
This comes after the automaker got rid of a gas-powered car to focus on an EV model.
With this change, drivers could be paying up to $500 more per month on car payments.
Cadillac announced in an internal memo that it will no longer be producing the three-row gas-powered SUV XT6.
The luxury brand will continue to manufacture its smaller XT5 model but will replace the XT6 with an electric vehicle called the Cadillac Vistiq.
General Motors Factory Closures and Layoffs
General Motors will be laying off 700 employees after a decline in electric vehicle sales.
Factory Zero Plant (2500 E Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48211): 200 workers will be laid off starting Monday. This facility produces the all-electric Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Hummer EV SUV and pickup, and all-electric Escalade IQ.
CAMI Assembly Plant (300 Ingersoll St S, Ingersoll, ON N5C 4A6, Canada): 500 workers will be laid off starting Monday. Employees will be laid off for three weeks and return for two weeks in May for limited production at the plant. Then, the facility will close for an additional 20 weeks.
“This is a testament to our team’s commitment to building vehicles that our customers love and our overall manufacturing flexibility,” the memo said.
GM also announced six new models to come: Escalade IQ, Escalade MCM, Optiq, Vistiq, Lyriq-V, and Cadillac CT5.
Car companies have faced pressure to participate in the electric vehicle revolution.
Top manufacturers like Tesla and BYD have dominated the industry for years, but other contenders are emerging.
Several automakers are introducing new EV models to keep up with the evolving needs of the industry.
However, companies claim that while producing electric models is a challenge, it’s more difficult to convince consumers to let go of their cherished gas cars.
General Motors did not immediately reply to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
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