General Motors (GM) will temporarily lay off 200 employees from its workforce at Factory Zero in Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Centre. The affected workers will be eligible for benefits and subpay in line with the national contract entered into between GM and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). The UAW has been facilitating contract negotiations, with major automakers such as Ford, Stellantis, as well as other firms such as General Dynamics and Rolls-Royce.
The layoffs at GM will be effective 14 April 2025 and are reportedly not related to tariffs. Factory ZERO, which was established in 1985, has a 4,500-strong workforce and was serving as the platform for GM’s multi-brand all-EV strategy. Production at Factory Zero will reportedly be altered according to market dynamics. It is pertinent to mention here that Factory Zero is where the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Hummer EV SUV and pickup as well as all-electric Escalade IQ vechicles are rolled out from.
Meanwhile, Stellantis has also halted production at its Canada and Mexico plants and temporarily laid off about 900 workers in its plants in Michigan and Indiana. Stellantis has also stopped production of the Leapmotor T03 electric vehicle (EV) at its plant in Poland as of 30 March 2025. It is reportedly looking at other production options within Europe for these EVs.
