A battery plant once hailed by President Donald Trump as proof that American manufacturing was roaring back is now facing massive layoffs.
The Ohio-based General Motors facility, located in Lordstown, is cutting hundreds of jobs as the electric vehicle market collapses under the weight of high prices and disappearing federal incentives.
General Motors confirmed this week that 550 workers at its Ultium Cells plant will lose their jobs, while another 850 will be placed on temporary layoff. In addition, GM plans to cut 1,200 more positions at its Detroit assembly plant. The company said it must “realign EV capacity” due to “slower near-term adoption” and an “evolving regulatory environment.”
GM insists it remains committed to U.S. manufacturing—but for many Ohio families, the damage is already done.
EV Dreams Crashing Under Biden’s Rules
The layoffs come as electric vehicle sales nosedive following the end of the $7,500 tax credit championed under Joe Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
After President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” officially ended those taxpayer-funded incentives this fall, demand dropped almost overnight. According to data from Cloud Theory, EV sales have plunged 74 percent since the credits expired.
A separate Cox Automotive report revealed that buyers “rushed to purchase before the tax credits ended,” warning that sales would “collapse” moving forward. Senior economist Charles Chesbrough explained that new tariffs and rising production costs will “lead to slower sales through the rest of the year.”
The reality: without government handouts, consumers simply don’t want overpriced electric cars.
Ohio Workers Left Behind
Lordstown’s plant has long been a symbol of both American pride and painful economic change. During his first term, President Trump promised Ohio workers their jobs would return, declaring at a 2017 rally, “They’re all coming back. Don’t move. Don’t sell your house.”
But in 2019, GM shuttered the original assembly plant, eliminating more than 14,000 jobs nationwide. The site was later repurposed in 2022 into an EV battery plant through a joint venture between Ultium Cells and GM.
Now, with the EV market shrinking, that promise is once again in jeopardy.
Local United Auto Workers President George Goranitis called the new layoffs “devastating,” saying, “This is an incredibly challenging time for our membership, especially given the painful history of our former assembly plant shutting its doors.”
GM Admits the EV Transition Is Failing
Even GM executives now acknowledge what many critics of Biden’s green policies have warned for years: the EV revolution is not sustainable.
Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told investors the company expects “EV demand growth to slow significantly,” and said GM must “rightsize” its production footprint to survive.
CEO Mary Barra went even further, writing to shareholders that with “the end of federal consumer incentives,” it’s now clear “near-term EV adoption will be lower than planned.”
GM is also temporarily cutting 700 more jobs at its Tennessee Ultium Cells plant, signaling even deeper problems ahead for the electric car industry.
Washington’s Promises Collide With Reality
Once again, working-class Americans are paying the price for failed Washington policies. The same politicians who promised “green jobs” and a “clean energy future” are now watching factories close and families struggle.
As the electric vehicle bubble bursts, thousands of American workers in states like Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee are being left behind—victims of political experiments that never matched economic reality.
The dream of a “zero-emissions future” may sound good in speeches. But for the men and women who actually build America’s cars, it’s turning into another broken promise.
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