General Motors bet big on electric vehicles and now employees are paying the price. We recently saw this play out in Canada, where over a thousand workers lost their jobs when BrightDrop vans were axed last week.

The cuts are now happening stateside as approximately 1,750 workers will be laid off. According to CNBC, the hardest impact will be felt at Factory Zero in Michigan, where around 1,200 jobs will be eliminated. An additional 550 people will be let go at the Ultium Cells plant in Ohio.

More: GM Lays Off Hundreds After Saying Business Is Going Great

On top of the indefinite cuts, there will reportedly be 1,550 temporary layoffs. These are said to be spread across Ultium Cells plants in Ohio and Tennessee, with the latter impacting 700 people.

In a series of statements, the automaker said the changes were “in response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment.”

This appears to be a reference to the elimination of the clean vehicle tax credit as well as the relaxing of regulations under the Trump administration.

Factory Zero builds the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac Escalade IQ. These models weren’t exactly flying off dealer lots even when there was a $7,500 federal incentive.

Promises and Pauses

The company said they remain committed to U.S. manufacturing and believe their “investments and dedication to flexible operations will make GM more resilient and capable of leading through change.”

That remains to be seen, but GM is pausing battery cell production in Warren, Ohio as well as in Spring Hill, Tennessee this January. Both plants are scheduled to reopen in mid-2026 and the downtime will be used to upgrade the facilities to provide “greater flexibility.”

It’s not entirely clear what that means, but the company said “Impacted employees may be eligible to continue receiving a significant portion of their regular wages or salary, plus benefits.”

Corporate Optimism Meets Reality

The news comes roughly one week after CEO Mary Barra told investors the company “delivered another very good quarter of earnings and free cash flow.”

She added the automaker achieved their highest third-quarter market share since 2017 and were raising their full-year guidance.

Despite being upbeat, Barra warned of cuts by saying “it is now clear that near-term EV adoption will be lower than planned. That is why we are reassessing our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint.” Despite this and new investments in ICE-powered vehicles, she said “electric vehicles remain our North Star.”