Avancez announces layoffs as GM scales back Factory Zero output

On the Dash:

1. Avancez will lay off 143 workers due to production cuts at GM Factory Zero.
2. Workers have limited protections because there is no UAW contract in place.
3. GM is scaling EV production, including prior layoffs and one-shift operations.

Avancez, a Michigan-based automotive supplier, will lay off 143 workers due to production cuts at General Motors’ Factory Zero EV plant. A WARN notice filed on Nov. 7 said the plant’s second shift would be indefinitely laid off starting Dec. 5 or within 14 days. The notice did not name GM, but Detroit Business confirmed that GM was the customer.

GM is one of Avancez’s primary clients, and the sudden decision to cut its second shift left the supplier unable to provide the required 60 days’ advanced notice to its workforce, as mandated under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. UAW Local 155 represents a portion of the supplier’s workforce, but the workers did not have a union contract in place when the layoffs were announced.

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The layoffs reflect broader challenges across the automotive industry as OEMS and suppliers adjust production to align with declining consumer demand following the expiration of the federal EV tax incentives.  

Under CEO Mary Barra, GM invested more than $35 billion in plug-in technology, a strategy that’s now being overhauled. The company reported a $1.6 billion charge in the third quarter tied to EV investments and anticipates additional charges in the fourth quarter.

Earlier this year, GM temporarily laid off over 3,000 Factory Zero workers until mid-November. Of those, 2,200 returned through early January when the plant resumed one-shift operations, while 1,200 remained on indefinite layoff.