General Motors told its employees on Tuesday that it will not be producing electric vehicles at its Michigan plant.
The Orion plant will now be used for production of the Cadillac Escalade full-size SUV — only available with an internal combustion engine (ICE) — and of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pick-up trucks.
The company currently manufactures the Silverado and Sierra models in Indiana, Mexico and Canada (only Silverado). The Escalade SUV is assembled in Texas.
With production halted since 2023, the Orion factory was originally supposed to manufacture fully electric iterations of the Silverado and Sierra models.
It wouldn’t be the first time EV production took place in Orion, as the Chevrolet Sonic (2017) and Bolt (2022) EVs used to be manufactured there.
The factory currently employs about 200 people.
Tara Kuhnen, a spokesperson for GM, confirmed that the company will be producing these models from “early 2027,” to help the automaker “meet continued strong customer demand.”
“GM is proud to call Michigan home, and these moves will further strengthen our manufacturing footprint,” Kuhnen added.
Last month, General Motors said that the Orion plant is one of three facilities — together with Fairfax, in Kansas, and Spring Hill, in Tennessee — that will share a $4 billion investment to expand production of ICE-powered vehicles.
In 2022, the Detroit automaker had previously accepted $480 million in state funds to expand EV production in Orion, which were accepted through the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund (SOAR).
General Motors said the investment at the Orion factory would be to add 3 million square feet of manufacturing space for the assembly of full-sized EV pick-ups and to do partial retooling on the site.
The company also requested $120 million in funding for a battery manufacturing plant near the city of Lansing, where it is in a joint venture with battery maker LG Energy Solution, called Ultium LLC.
The state of Michigan paid $600 million to the companies, regarded that they invested into Michigan worksites and created over 1,800 jobs by 2030.
According to the state Department of Treasury records, the state transferred the funding to GM by September 2023, with the $120 million portion specific to Ultium Cells completed two months before.
The US automaker delayed production in Orion several times last year, citing demand for EVs was weaker than initially expected.
The company stated that it has completed expansion of the Orion site, where it is currently building battery modules for EVs produced at GM‘s Factory Zero plant in Detroit.
Under the SOAR agreement, General Motors is still responsible for the investment. It will need to create 1,840 jobs by 2030.
