General Motors delays second shift at Kansas assembly plant, lays off 900
General Motors Co. will indefinitely lay off 900 people as it backs off plans to establish a second shift at its Fairfax Assembly plant near Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The layoff comes as the company edges back from electric vehicles. Kevin Kelly, a GM spokesperson, told the Free Press GM plans to add gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox production to the plant in 2027.
Reportedly, more senior workers among those laid off will receive priority to be re-hired then, but GM did not offer a timeline or estimate for how many would be brought back.
The news came out the same day General Motors announced its third-quarter sales were up 8% year-over-year, led by the looming expiration of a federal tax credit for certain electric vehicles and strong sales for the Chevy Equinox EV.
What people are saying
“As previously announced, GM is delaying the launch of the second shift at Fairfax Assembly as part of strategic adjustments,” GM spokesman Kevin Kelly told the Detroit Free Press, in a statement. “GM’s recent decision to allocate gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox production to Fairfax beginning in 2027 emphasizes the strong future for the facility. The company will continue to evaluate customer demand and market dynamics leveraging our flexible manufacturing footprint as we make decisions about our operations.”
“It’s not an ideal situation to have that many folks displaced. I understand the business is the business, but it would have been great to maintain some security for these folks for the foreseeable future,” Dontay Wilson, president of UAW Local 31, told the Detroit Free Press. “The GM Fairfax local management team has done a decent job, but from a top-down approach, it has been surprising at times. For us, we have been doing the best we can to roll with the punches.”
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