General Motors (GM) has announced that it will lay off roughly 1,300 employees in Michigan starting early in the coming year. This decision comes as the vehicles they manufacture are set to stop being produced, as revealed in documents filed with the state.
Most of these job cuts were anticipated. The biggest group affected includes 945 workers at the Orion Assembly plant. They are responsible for making Chevrolet Bolt models, which will no longer be produced after the end of this year.
The last batch of these cars is expected to be made during the week of December 18. However, the job cuts won't take place until January 1.
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General Motors' Michigan Cuts 1,300 Jobs as Camaro Production Ends
In addition to previous layoffs, General Motors will let go of 350 employees from its Lansing Grand River plant. This decision is due to the Chevrolet Camaro no longer being produced.
However, the plant will still make the Cadillac CT4 and Cadillac CT5 models. GM has stated that workers who are paid by the hour and affected by these layoffs will have the opportunity to work at other GM factories.
General Motors had already shared the news about stopping the production of a particular vehicle, but they hadn't said how many workers at the plant would lose their jobs. This plant still makes Cadillac sedans.
Today, the company informed the Lansing Grand River Assembly staff about changes in the number of workers needed because they're stopping the production of the Camaro.
Under the laws of Michigan, specifically the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), companies must give employees, local government, and the Labor and Economic Opportunity Department (LEO) at least 60 days' notice before shutting down plants or making significant job cuts.
General Motors (GM) informed everyone in October and December about its plans to lay off 945 workers from its Orion Township plant in January indefinitely.
On December 7, GM announced plans to lay off 369 employees from two Lansing facilities.
However, this doesn't mean all 1,314 workers will be without jobs. A report from CNBC in October mentioned that, based on GM's plans, about 1,000 hourly employees at the Orion Township plant could move to other Michigan facilities until the changes at the factory are finished.
Plans to Delay a Portion of the Incentives
In January 2022, G.M. announced that it would spend $7 billion on four Michigan-based projects, including $4 billion to convert its existing Orion Township factory to make electric pickup trucks like the GMC Sierra E.V. 0
In return, the state agreed to $824 million in incentives for G.M., including $600 million in grants, $66.1 million for infrastructure improvements, and a tax break valued at $158 million. Orion Township also approved a property tax abatement on the facility for 12 years plus three years for construction.
However, there's also a chance that Michigan authorities might take back or delay some of the incentives they had earlier promised. However, in any case, the state government offered over $820 million from taxpayer money to sway the choices of a company worth billions of dollars.
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