Lansing GM assembly plant to see layoffs as Camaro production comes to end

LANSING — More than 350 Lansing autoworkers will be laid off beginning Jan. 1, General Motors announced Thursday, and city officials are urging the company to find new products to build in mid-Michigan.

The the company issued a Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice that it intends to cut 369 jobs at Lansing Grand River Assembly/Stamping as GM ends production of the Camaro muscle car built there. The cuts will happen in phases that begin Jan. 1 and end in March, according to the WARN notice.

“I am deeply disappointed to hear about this decision by GM to layoff so many Lansing autoworkers," Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to hearing what GM has planned for LGR’s future and fully expect these jobs to return when GM replaces the Camaro line with a new product."

According to General Motors, LGR Assembly has 1,405 workers overall. The plant builds the Camaro, as well as the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 models.

GM announced earlier this year that it was ending Camaro production at the plant with the 2024 model year.

“As we prepare to say goodbye to the current generation Camaro, it is difficult to overstate our gratitude to every Camaro customer, Camaro assembly line employee and race fan,” Global Chevrolet Vice President Scott Bell said at the time. “While we are not announcing an immediate successor today, rest assured, this is not the end of Camaro’s story.”

Leaders of Lansing's UAW Local 652, which represents workers at the plant, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Schor said the LGR factory's location means it is well-positioned to aid GM's move toward an electric vehicle future.

"It is the perfect location, close to the new Ultium battery plant, for transitioning to electric vehicle production and I am hopeful that we can look to the future of this plant and these incredible autoworkers," Schor said. "I plan to meet with GM as soon as possible to talk about this announcement and any potential future plans."

The Ultium plant represents a $2.6 billion investment in Delta Township. The plant is a joint venture between General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution Michigan Inc. It could begin producing electric vehicle batteries by the end of 2024.

General Motors' announcement said it will lay off a total of 1,314 employees at two factories. GM also filed a WARN notice Thursday that said it will cut 945 jobs starting Jan. 1 at its Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township.

Those cuts are related to GM's October announcement that it was delaying production of two all-electric pickups at the plant by a full year, which will idle the factory at the end of this year. The company will transfer about 1,000 workers to other GM facilities in the state.

GM had planned to start production on the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV next year at Orion, but GM said it will "retime the conversion" of Orion Assembly plant to EV truck production and restart the plant in late 2025 instead.

The automaker says it will offer affected employees jobs elsewhere in the company.

The planned cuts come on the heels of a more than month-long strike that affected Lansing's auto plants.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing GM assembly plant to see cuts as Camaro production comes to end