Demand For Electric Cars Slows Down, GM Cuts Production And Lays Off More Than 3,000 US Employees

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 left the production line at Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky, June 2, 2025. (Photo: General Motors)

JAKARTA This October the world of work is being rocked by a massive wave of layoffs (PHK) that hit various sectors, ranging from logistics, technology, to manufacturing. Thousands of employees from a number of giant world companies are now losing their jobs, signaling the global labor market is weakening.

The largest wave comes from UPS (a logistics service company and a global package delivery company), which announced layoffs of 48,000 employees amid efforts to efficiency and digitize the logistics process. Not long after, Amazon followed up with a plan to cut up to 30,000 workers. The technology sector also did not escape the storm. Intel was recorded to be cutting 24,000 positions, followed by Microsoft with 7,000 employees, and Meta again laid off 600 workers.

Recently in the automotive sector there is General Motors (GM) which announced dramatic steps by cutting production of electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries in the United States, as well as laying off more than 3,000 of its workers. This decision was taken on Wednesday, October 29 in direct response to the significant slowdown in demand for battery-powered cars in the US market.

Production Cut And Reduction

Reuters reported, quoted Thursday, October 30, that GM said it would cut about 1,200 factory jobs at Detroit's EV plant. In addition, the company will also lay off 550 indefinite employees at the Ohio battery factory, a joint venture with South Korea's LG Energy Solution.

GM also announced a temporary suspension of battery cell production at two US battery joint ventures (in Tennessee and Ohio) for approximately six months starting in January. This policy will have an impact on the layoff of around 1,550 workers at the facility.

At Detroit's EV factory that produces large electric pickup trucks such as Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, as well as EV Escalade IQ and Hummer SUV, GM will cut production by about 50 percent by reducing work shifts to just one, effective from January.

GM explained that this cut was carried out "in response to the slower adoption of short-term EVs and the growing regulatory environment."

This decision is in line with GM CEO Mary Barra's statement last week that said, "With the growing regulatory framework and the end of federal consumer incentives, it is clear that short-term EV adoption will be much lower than planned."

Fears of a drop in demand are growing as federal tax credit expires at $7,500 for EV buyers, which means executives and analysts expect EV sales to drop by half in the coming months.

This slowdown trend has not only hit GM. Other automakers in the US, including Nissan and Jeep-maker Stellantis, have also reportedly scrapped plans for their future electric models. GM itself has previously canceled production of the BrightDrop electric van, citing slow development in the commercial van EV market.