General Motors (GM) announced on Tuesday that it will delay production of all-electric trucks at its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan by one year to late 2025. The company said the delay is to better manage capital investments and align with evolving EV demand.
GM had been set to begin production of the electric Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra in late 2024 at the suburban Detroit plant.
GM spokesman Kevin Kelly said the change has nothing to do with the ongoing four-week partial strike by members of the United Auto Workers union. GM said that workers will be offered positions at other Michigan factories until their plant reopens.
“General Motors today confirmed it will retime the conversion of its Orion Assembly plant to EV truck production to late 2025, to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand.
In addition, we have identified engineering improvements that we will implement to increase the profitability of our products,” the company said in a statement.
The change in plans is not connected to the company’s ongoing contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, according to a GM spokesman.
However, the contentious talks do involve EVs, and current contract proposals by the company are expected to be more expensive than those in year’s past. The UAW, which represents workers at Orion Assembly, did not immediately respond for comment.
The production delay calls into question GM’s previously announced EV goals, including cumulative production of 400,000 EVs in North American from 2022 through mid-2024, which had already been pushed back.
GM also has a goal to exclusively offer consumer EVs by 2035. A GM spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the company’s EV production target.
New electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra that were supposed to be produced at Orion Assembly will be assembled at GM’s Factory Zero in Detroit, the company said.
Limited production of the Silverado EV is underway, while Sierra is scheduled to begin next year. Alongside the Silverado EV, Factory Zero is currently building the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV and Cruise Origin shuttle.
In January 2022, GM announced it would invest $4 billion to convert Orion Assembly to produce electric trucks. The plant was expected to be its second U.S. assembly plant to exclusively produce EVs.
GM said construction includes significant facility and capacity expansion at the site, including new body and paint shops and new general assembly and battery pack assembly areas.
Roughly 1,000 hourly workers at Orion Assembly will have the option to transfer to other Michigan facilities until the retooling at Orion Assembly is completed.
