GM Gears Up for Layoffs As Facility Shifts from Malibu to Bolt EV Production
If you’re like me, you wake up every few months surprised to re-learn that the Chevrolet Malibu is still on sale. That said, the automaker will soon discontinue the sedan and recently announced that the workers at its Fairfax Assembly Plant, where the car is built, would be laid off.
The revelation came from GM’s recent filing with the state of Kansas as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The filing said that layoffs would commence on November 18, starting with a temporary layoff of 686 full-timers and termination of 250 temp workers. In January next year, GM will lay off another 759 full-time employees.
Despite the “reorganization,” the Fairfax facility will continue running a first shift in January before Cadillac XT4 production pauses. At that point, GM will retool the factory to build the new Chevy Bolt EV and continue XT4 production.
A GM spokesperson said in a statement, “To facilitate the installation of new tooling, employees will be placed on a temporary layoff until production resumes in mid-2025. Affected employees will be supported according to the provisions of the UAW-GM agreement. When production resumes in 2025, Fairfax will produce the new Bolt EV, a product that will deliver once more what customers love about the nameplate: great affordability, range, and technology.”
The new Bolt may be the breath of fresh air GM needs with its EV program, so it’s not surprising to see it replace the aging gas-only Malibu. GM promised to revive the vehicle, which was once its most affordable EV, using its Ultium technology, which should give it a longer driving range and faster charging than previous models.
[Images: Chevrolet]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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