An iconic Detroit plant went dark in October, and its future doesn’t look bright
1,140 Detroit factory workers got a nasty surprise the other day. They’re being laid off permanently. GM didn’t even tell them until it filed mandatory paperwork with the state.
As a Detroit resident, it made me sad to see the most recent layoffs at Factory Zero. It didn’t surprise me, though. When GM announced its temporary layoff of all 3,300 workers across Factory Zero’s three shifts, I wrote that these sorts of massive closings are a preview of the industry’s future.
General Motors retooled its historic factory on the Detroit-Hamtramck border in 2020. The plant’s new purpose was to build EVs. Its cutting-edge name: Factory Zero. The factory currently assembles the Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and Cadillac Escalade IQ. Unfortunately, large, expensive EVs haven’t proven steady enough in demand.
How Factory Zero reached this point
Throughout 2025, GM laid off 280 Factory Zero employees. On Sept. 2, it announced it was temporarily closing first- and second-shift production. At the end of October, GM said it was idling the plant completely. Its plan was to reopen two shifts from Nov. 24 through Jan. 6 so at least those workers could collect holiday pay. It admitted the fate of Factory Zero going into 2026 would depend on customer demand.
This latest announcement confirms at least one shift is never coming back. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, also known as the WARN Act, requires companies to notify their state’s labor department before large layoffs.
