Reuters reports that GM is temporarily laying off about 200 workers at its Factory Zero plant in Detroit, Michigan. According to a spokesperson, General Motors made this decision “to align with market dynamics. ” The same source specified that the move is unrelated to auto tariffs recently imposed by the Trump administration.
Factory Zero currently employs approximately 4,500 workers. It’s currently the production site of electric trucks and SUVs underpinned by GM’s BT1 platform. These include the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV SUV, GMC Hummer EV Pickup, and Cadillac Escalade IQ. It will also produce the Cadillac Escalade IQL when production begins on the longer version of the electric luxury SUV.
Factory Zero running under capacity raises questions about the future of GM’s Orion Assembly facility in Michigan. Orion is currently being retooled to produce the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV in 2026, but slower-than-expected demand for full-size electric trucks might change those plans. It was previously the production site of the Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Bolt EUV, but production of the next-gen 2026 Chevy Bolt is moving to Fairfax Assembly in Kansas.
Also called the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant, it was built in 1911 as a Dodge factory. It reopened in 1985 as a General Motors facility and was retooled as an EV plant in 2020. The first EV it produced was a GMC Hummer EV in December of 2021.
We reported earlier this year that General Motors had paused production at Factory Zero from January 2nd to February 3rd. At the time, the automaker cited the reason for the pause as “planned upgrades to the paint shop to support future production.”
In other recent General Motors EV production news, we reported in December that the Ultium Cells battery plants are still not running at full capacity despite a significant increase in EV sales in 2024. General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson said in a conference call that the Ultium Cells plant in Warren, Ohio, was running at 80 percent capacity, and the Ultium Cells Plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, was running at a mere 40 percent.
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I live in a metro area with several million people. I’ve seen, on the road a handful of Hummers – back when people paid stupid money over MSRP for them. I have yet to see a Silverado EV or Sierra EV. Two different households in my neighborhood recently purchased Escalade IQs, and I’ve seen a few on the road – it may well end up being GM’s most successful 6-figure EV.
A large GMC dealer by me has a lot of Hummers on the lot. $105k MSRP with $14k off. That means the dealer is losing roughly $7k just to get them off the floor plan. There is no holdback on GM EVs and GM pays dealer $3% of base MSRP plus 9% of window sticker options.
I was wondering what the Dealer made. Just bought a Equinox EV. I presume the values apply similarly to those too and explains why Dealers are not providing any incentives but Id id get a free NACS adapter per my request.
What? We’ve been gaslit that GM’s EV sales are growing. This can’t be!
And we’ve clearly been gaslit that GM had all these reservations for them. I believe GM told us the Hummer had 90,000 reservations. Later they claimed to have 200,000 reservations for the EV pickups. They’ve never built or sold anywhere near what they claimed to have reserved.
With Orion and Hamtramck, GM is “ramped” as Barra likes to say, to build 600,000 of the trucks a year. They sold less than 10,000 last year.
I really wish GM much success and I’m not anti-EV but it’s all the big claims of products being “sold out” that actually aren’t that has caused me to lose respect. I think GM and our government thought they could push all buyers into EVs and they tried hard to make the public believe they needed to hurry up and buy one because they were selling out fast. In reality they’re languishing on lots.
It’s one thing to make a mistake (in this case a grave mistake). It’s another to plow ahead after realizing you made a mistake. This is known as hubris. What is amazing is that nobody on the board recognizes this is a losing course of action and speaks up- not that it will get them anyplace.
The Board members at many large corporations are just puppets themselves.
Thank you John!
And that’s why we still have Mary leading us at 90mph down a dead end street.
No it was more interest. If you signed up for the updates to the vehicle on their site that probably was what made the list. But at least its not as bad ad the millions for the Tesla truck that are doing what now? LOL.
Really poor business planning, some of said a long time ago that GM was putting too many eggs in their EV basket. Now they need to convert those underused EV factories to build ICE vehicles here to avoid the import tariffs. DUH!
Keep dreaming Mel, unless UAW members want to take a pay cut it isn’t going to happen.
Equinox, Blazer, and Lyriq EVs sales are growing, but those are built in Tennessee and Mexico, not at Factory Zero.
Wouldn’t happen if they kept the 3.6
I don’t think this is accurate:
“Also called the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant, it was built in 1911 as a Dodge factory. It reopened in 1985 as a General Motors facility…”
I believe in actuality the Dodge plant was torn down along with an entire community called “Pole Town” to allow GM to build a new facility on the site. The plant opened in ‘85 and initially built GM’s all-new downsized ‘86 E and K body cars (Eldorado, Toronado, Riviera, Seville). These were GM’s most prestigious nameplates at the time. The new plant was GM’s most automated and technological facility upon opening and it was set up to build their most profitable and prestigious products.
Of course those products flopped in the marketplace and Hamtramck was initially riddled with problems.
Maybe focus a little less on 6-figure halo EVs and make them weigh less than a cruise ship? Just a thought.
Or find a way to put a gasoline engine in them. I bet their sales would triple
The liberals will come on here and just blame TRUMP. It’s all his fault!
GM screwed up majorly by making their EVs too expensive. Should have focused on Hybrids. Hopefully their new small block V8s will have a hybrid option.
The only comment to mention Trump so far is you. But go off.
Slower-than-expected demand for full-size electric trucks. I see the same Silverado EV’s rotting on the lot every time I drive by.
At the local GM dealer, there are 5 HummEVs. Been sitting here for 6 months.
Scrap the batteries and put IC engines in them, they will sell!
I think it will continue to get tough for all EV’s (even Tesla). Auto companies were using EV’s to meet the ridiculous CAFE requirements and EV mandates. With those likely relaxed and the subsidies gone, they will have to sell on their own merits, the main one being virtue signaling. I’m not seeing much of a rush for that anymore.
TNT believes anyone with common sense is a liberal. Just a poor miserable troglodyte.
When the truths come out on evs about cold and warm temps affecting batteries people realized the technology isn’t there. Biden tried to lure the country into buying a plug in vehicle that’s not ready for prime time and Gm put there eggs in the wrong basket. Gm Mary and the board needs to be fired.