Ultium Cells is set to temporarily furlough approximately 700 workers at its manufacturing facility located in Spring Hill, Tennessee. This decision comes as the company gears up for a brief halt in production slated for next year, as reported by The Tennessean, which cited information from Reuters. The battery assembly plant, a collaborative effort between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, is expected to cease operations from January 2026 until mid-year. This strategic pause is part of a broader initiative by General Motors to adapt to a decline in electric vehicle demand and changing regulatory landscapes.
In addition to the Spring Hill facility, Ultium Cells’ plant in Warren, Ohio, will experience a similar shutdown, affecting 850 employees through furloughs and resulting in the permanent layoff of 550 workers, according to Reuters. This decision follows a significant announcement made in July, which marked a new chapter in the $2.3 billion collaboration between GM and LG Energy Solution aimed at producing affordable lithium iron phosphate battery cells.
Despite reporting strong earnings recently, General Motors has been actively reducing its workforce. The Detroit Free Press highlighted that the automaker has let go of around 500 employees at its Michigan Technical Center and Georgia IT Innovation Center as part of its annual workforce review. Furthermore, in September, GM implemented furloughs for nearly half of the 1,400 shift workers at the Spring Hill vehicle assembly plant, a move that coincided with a reduction in electric vehicle production. This facility is also scheduled for downtime during October, Thanksgiving, and throughout December.
Earlier this fall, reports emerged indicating that following an immigration raid conducted by Homeland Security at LG Energy Solution’s battery plant in Georgia, which is associated with Hyundai Motor, several Korean workers employed at the Spring Hill Ultium Cells site chose to leave the country.