General Motors (GM) is temporarily stopping production of its BrightDrop electric delivery vans at its CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, starting April 14. This move is expected to lead to mass layoffs, impacting nearly 500 workers.
The suspension comes as GM struggles with an oversupply of BrightDrop vans and low demand.
According to USAToday, the company plans to pause operations for three weeks in April, resume for a short two-week run in May, and then shut down the plant again for 20 weeks to retool for the 2026 model year.
"This is devastating for our members," said Mike Van Boekel, plant chair for Unifor Local 88, the union representing hourly workers at CAMI. "We are losing these shifts indefinitely."
Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union, represents about 1,200 workers at the CAMI plant. These employees assemble BrightDrop EVs and build battery modules.
Unifor National President Lana Payne said the layoffs are a "crushing blow" to families in the area. She urged GM and all levels of government to help protect Canadian autoworkers.
GM confirmed it is making "operational and employment adjustments" to align production with current market demand. Despite the slowdown, the company said it remains committed to BrightDrop and the CAMI facility.
General Motors is cutting production of its all-electric BrightDrop delivery vans at a plant in Canada and will idle the facility through much of this year. https://t.co/9Fpb5yLoTJ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 12, 2025
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GM Scales Back BrightDrop Plans Amid Weak EV Sales
The layoffs follow GM's difficulty competing in the electric delivery van market. BrightDrop vans, which cost around $74,000, are priced much higher than Ford's E-Transit vans, which start at $51,600.
Last year, GM sold only 1,529 BrightDrop vans, far behind Ford's 12,610 E-Transit sales and Rivian's 13,243. So far in 2025, GM has sold only 274 BrightDrop vans, Electrek said.
Photos taken last month show hundreds of unsold vans parked in storage lots in Flint, Michigan, and at the CAMI plant.
GM had big plans for BrightDrop. It expects to build 50,000 vans per year starting in 2025.
But due to low demand, the company is now scaling back, with CAMI moving from two shifts to one when production resumes in October.
The company said it will use the long shutdown period to retool the plant for the next version of BrightDrop vans.
Experts say that high prices, lack of EV charging stations, and trade uncertainties — including proposed tariffs between the US and Canada — have hurt sales.
"This pause might be the best option for now," said Sam Fiorani, a vehicle market analyst. "But if the US and Canada don't act quickly, they could fall behind in the global EV race."
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