U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) has announced that it is cutting production of its all-electric BrightDrop delivery vans at a plant in Ontario.
The electric van plant located in Ingersoll near London, Ontario will be idled for 20 weeks from May until October.
After that the plant will be reduced from two shifts to one shift and 500 jobs will be cut. GM said it is undertaking the prolonged shutdown and reducing production due to “market demand.”
The Detroit-based automaker stressed that the decision regarding the assembly plant is not related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports.
Unifor, the union that represents workers at the Ontario plant, described General Motors’ decision as a “crushing blow” to workers and the community.
General Motors launched its BrightDrop vans as a fully owned subsidiary in 2021, before folding it into the company’s fleet business in 2023.
The automaker had high expectations of making BrightDrop into a lucrative growth business, but sales and revenue did not meet the company’s initial expectations.
In 2023 and 2024, the automaker only sold about 2,000 of the electric vans, according to its sales reports.
The idling of the plant comes weeks after The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported that hundreds of unsold BrightDrop electric vans are sitting in a Michigan storage lot.
Worries are running high in Canada about the impact that U.S. tariffs will have on the country’s automotive industry that’s connected to neighbouring Detroit.
The stock of General Motors has declined 15% so far this year to trade at $43.63 U.S. per share.