GM cutting jobs, idling Canadian electric van plant

DETROIT — Basic Motors is chopping manufacturing of its all-electric BrightDrop supply vans at a plant in Canada and can idle the power by way of a lot of this yr.

The plant will likely be lowered from two to at least one shifts — eliminating 500 jobs — adopted by a 20-week idling of the power that is scheduled to start in Might. Battery pack meeting on the plant additionally will likely be down the weeks of April 24 and April 28, forward of the extended shutdown.

The Detroit automaker on Friday confirmed the plans for its CAMI meeting plant in Ontario, Canada, and stated the selections should not associated to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“This adjustment is instantly associated to responding to market demand and re-balancing stock. Manufacturing of BrightDrop and EV battery meeting will stay at CAMI,” GM stated in an emailed assertion.

GM launched its BrightDrop vans as a totally owned subsidiary in 2021, earlier than folding it into the corporate’s fleet enterprise in 2023. It then folded BrightDrop into its Chevrolet model in 2024.

GM had excessive expectations of creating BrightDrop right into a new, profitable development enterprise for the automaker, however gross sales and income didn’t meet the corporate’s preliminary expectations.

BrightDrop was anticipated to generate $1 billion in income in 2023. GM declined to reveal BrightDrop’s income, nevertheless it’s extremely unlikely the goal was achieved.

In 2023 and 2024, the automaker solely offered about 2,000 of the electrical vans, in response to its gross sales studies.

The idling plans come weeks after a Detroit Free Press report that a whole lot of BrightDrop autos have been lining a storage lot in Flint, Michigan 

That is breaking information. Please verify again for added updates.