General Motors Laying Off 1,300 Michigan Auto Workers After Raking in Millions from State’s Taxpayers

LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 21: General Motors Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave vehicles go
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

General Motors (GM) will lay off more than 1,300 auto workers across Michigan right after the Christmas holiday, executives announced this week. Those layoffs come even as GM raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s taxpayers through deals with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).

In two separate state filings, GM executives said they are laying off 945 auto workers starting January 1, 2024, who are currently employed at its Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township, Michigan.

The layoffs at the Orion plant are the result of GM’s delaying its conversion to produce Electric Vehicles (EVs) like the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.

At GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly/Stamping plant in Lansing, Michigan, executives said 369 auto workers will be laid off starting January 1, 2024, through March of next year. The layoffs come as GM ends production of the Camaro.

Employees attend an event celebrating the 3 millionth vehicle produced at the General Motors Co. Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020. (Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In January 2022, Whitmer announced a massive financial agreement with GM, which ultimately saw Michigan taxpayers footing an $824 million bill to have the automaker promise to invest billions in auto jobs across the state.

“GM’s $7 billion investment in Michigan — the largest in their history — will create and retain 5,000 good-paying jobs and enable us to build on our legacy as the place that put the world on wheels,” Whitmer said at the time.

As part of that agreement, GM promised to convert its Orion plant to produce EVs with a $4 billion investment while investing millions in the Lansing plant. The agreement vowed to create 4,000 auto jobs in Michigan.

GM CEO Mary Barra said at the time that the investments “would not have been possible” without Whitmer’s helping shore up taxpayer money to give the automakers big tax breaks.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here

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