GM Plans To Lay Off 1,700 Workers At Kansas Factory

General Motors will furlough or fire nearly 1,700 workers at its factory in Kansas during two waves set to start in November.

The first round will involve temporary layoffs of 686 full-time employees and firings of 250 temporary workers, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday.

The second round will take place in January 2025, when 759 full-time workers will be temporarily laid off at the Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kan.

The moves were formalized last week after GM said in May that it would pause production of the Cadillac XT4 small SUV in Kansas until late 2025.

The plan also calls for ending production of the gas-powered Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan in favor of new electric vehicles.

When the factory reopens, it will manufacture the XT4 and the Chevrolet Bolt EV.

"GM is investing approximately $390 million in our Fairfax Assembly Plant to add production of the new Chevrolet Bolt EV," the company said in a statement cited by Bloomberg. "To facilitate the installation of new tooling, employees will be placed on a temporary layoff until production resumes in mid-2025."

GM employs about 2,200 people at the factory, according to its website.

In August, the company laid off more than 1,000 software and service workers worldwide, including about 600 at its tech campus near Detroit.

Earlier this month, it also shuttered a factory in Ecuador, laying off 320 workers.

GM stock closed at $48.88 a share on Friday, up 35.6% since the start of the year.