By Breana Noble, The Detroit News
General Motors Co. on Thursday said it’s temporarily cutting approximately 200 jobs at its Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, as the electric vehicle market hits a bumpier road than expected.
The layoffs aren’t related to tariffs, spokesman Kevin Kelly said, but to market conditions for purchases of the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV and Sierra EV truck, Chevrolet Silverado EV truck and Cadillac Escalade IQ EV SUV that the plant produces. It employs 4,537 people, according to GM’s website.
GM nearly doubled its EV sales year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025.
But as the availability of new vehicles with various powertrains improved post-pandemic, sales of EVs have missed industry expectations, revealing consumer hesitation around affordability, range anxiety, charging speeds, and access to charging infrastructure.
Those challenges have been augmented with President Donald Trump pausing federal funding for charging stations, directing his administration to reevaluate electrified vehicle subsidies and instituting 25% tariffs on imported vehicles and certain parts that could increase all vehicle costs.
“Factory ZERO will adjust production to align with market dynamics,” Kelly said in a statement. “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.”
Reuters first reported the layoffs.
The job cuts are only the latest related to rollbacks in EV predictions. Earlier this year, GM cut a third shift at its Ramos Arizpe manufacturing plant in Mexico in accordance with Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s decision to slow production of the all-electric Prologue SUV, which is built there. Ford Motor Co. made its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn that assembles the F-150 Lightning truck a one-shift operation last year, and it nixed plans for an all-electric three-row SUV in its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario.
Stellantis NV also began idling its Windsor and Toluca assembly plants in Ontario and Mexico, respectively, because of tariffs for weeks. Those plants build the all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S SUV and Dodge Charger Daytona muscle car as well as gas-powered Jeep Cherokee crossovers and Chrysler Pacifica minivans, including the hybrid version.
In response to tariffs, GM said it would increase production at its Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana. In other production decisions, Cadillac this week said the XT6 will end production at the end of the year in Spring Hill, Tennessee, while XT5 assembly will continue there. The luxury brand has introduced a series of new EVs, including the Lyriq, Optiq, Escalade IQ and the just-launched Vistiq.
