((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Added GM comment, paragraphs 2-3 and 5-6)
General Motors
GM.N
will lay off 1,695 workers at its Fairfax, Kansas, assembly plant, the company said in a worker adjustment and retraining notice earlier this week.
A GM spokesperson, confirming the layoffs initially reported by Automotive News, said the first of two phases would begin Nov. 18, temporarily affecting 686 full-time workers and terminating the contracts of 250 temporary employees.
Under the second phase, which will begin on January 12 next year, 759 full-time workers will be temporarily laid off, the spokesman confirmed.
In May, GM announced it would halt production of the Cadillac XT4 after January 2025 in Kansas, leading to layoffs of production workers until manufacturing resumes in late 2025 for the Bolt EV and XT4 on the same assembly line.
“As previously announced in May, GM is investing approximately $390 million at our Fairfax Assembly Plant to add production of the new Chevrolet Bolt EV,” a GM spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Saturday.
“To facilitate the installation of the new tooling, employees will be temporarily placed on technical unemployment until production resumes in mid-2025,” the spokesperson added.
In August, the company also laid off more than 1,000 employees worldwide in its software and services units.
