GM announces temporary layoffs of several hundred people at its Kansas plant

General Motors said Thursday it will lay off hundreds of workers at its Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, as it ends production of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The automaker said 680 workers at the plant would begin their layoffs on Nov. 18. The automaker informed workers of its plan to phase out layoffs earlier this year.

“As announced in May, GM is investing approximately $390 million at our Fairfax Assembly Plant to add production of the new Chevrolet Bolt EV,” GM spokesman Kevin Kelly said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press. “To facilitate the installation of new tools, employees will be temporarily furloughed until production resumes in mid-2025.”

Affected employees will be supported under the terms of the UAW-GM agreement, Kelly said. The UAW did not immediately provide comment for this article.

The Malibu was first introduced in 1964 and discontinued in 1983, but was relaunched in 1997, according to Edmunds.com. GM sold millions of the family sedan over the decades, even selling some generations as police vehicles. But in May, GM announced it would end production of the car to make way for the next-generation Bolt to be built in Fairfax. GM CEO Mary Barra has said the next-generation Bolt EV will likely arrive in 2025.

The only gasoline-powered car in Chevrolet’s lineup is the Corvette, as GM ended production of the Camaro last year. GM introduced a hybrid variant of the Corvette, called the E-Ray, earlier this year.

In addition to the Malibu, GM builds the Cadillac XT4 SUV at the Fairfax plant. But XT4 production will be halted in January, and the remaining workers will be temporarily laid off. According to GM’s website, the Fairfax plant has a total of 2,275 employees. Kelly said GM plans to resume XT4 production at Fairfax once the reorganization is complete.

The new Bolt will use GM’s Ultium propulsion system. The previous generation Bolt was built at the Orion Assembly Plant in Orion Township. That plant is being retooled to build the Chevrolet Silverado EV, which is currently manufactured at Detroit’s Plant Zero and in Hamtramck. In July, GM said Orion wouldn’t begin production until mid-2026.

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This is a developing story.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To learn more about General Motors, sign up for our automotive newsletter. Become a subscriber.