General Motors temporarily laid off 1,300 workers at Factory Zero, its Detroit electric-vehicle assembly plant, on March 31.

The Detroit-Hamtramck site, converted at a cost of $2.2 billion into GM's first fully dedicated EV assembly facility, has halted output as demand cools for the battery-powered vehicles built there. Affected workers moved to temporary layoff status.

What the stoppage covers

The 1,300 figure matches the plant's production workforce on site. This marks at least the second extended stoppage at Factory Zero in recent weeks — Automotive News' prior coverage on the plant is filed under a slug reading "gm-factory-zero-idled-again" — underscoring that single-shift output has not returned to planned levels since the earlier layoff cycle.

The temporary designation carries the standard UAW-GM contract recall rights. GM did not announce a return-to-work date.

What the $2.2 billion bought

GM announced the conversion of the former Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in 2021, framing it as the first North American factory purpose-built for EV assembly from a converted site. The $2.2 billion spend covered paint and body shop retooling, vehicle communication infrastructure, and dedicated battery-pack staging areas inside the factory.

Photos from the project, dated July 2, 2021, captured the plant mid-retool with structural steel and new tooling foundations still being installed. Production began in late 2021 under plans for a two-shift, six-day operating schedule at full capacity. The plant has run well below that cadence through repeated demand-driven pauses.

Why the timing matters

The stoppage lands amid broader softness in U.S. EV demand. Trade-press coverage running alongside the GM announcement flagged industry-wide anxiety about EV costs, charging-infrastructure rollout, and shifting federal policy — pressures that have repeatedly pushed dedicated EV plants into single-shift or stopped production over the past year.

For Detroit-area suppliers tied to Factory Zero, each idle triggers downstream scheduling impacts, since the plant depends on near-just-in-time delivery from regional stamping and component vendors.

What to watch next

• April 1 U.S. sales release: GM reports March deliveries, indicating whether EV nameplate demand is recovering or continuing to soften.
• Layoff duration: Whether the temporary designation converts to an indefinite stoppage through April.
• Supplier impact: How Factory Zero's scheduling pause cascades to regional Tier 1 stamping and component vendors.
• GM's next earnings call: Management will face analyst questions on EV plant utilization and any shifts to upcoming launch timing.