General Motors continues to adjust its production schedules and strategies in the face of tariffs, lost EV incentives and overall slowing EV demand. The company has confirmed it is ending production of the all-electric Brightdrop delivery van.
That of course constitutes ominous news for workers at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, where the Brightdrop was assembled. It also drives a dagger into Ontario’s goal of becoming a central player in the production of EVs for North America.
"The decision to end production of the BrightDrop electric delivery van is driven by market demand and in no way reflects the commitment and skill of our workforce at CAMI.”
- Kristian Aquilina, GM Canada president and managing director
GM says it will be working with provincial and federal governments as well as with the Unifor workers’ union to “evaluate the future of CAMI”, and it insists it remains committed to identifying “meaningful opportunities” for the plant, but this is clearly not an encouraging development.
The company did say that wage workers will be entitled to six months’ salary in addition to other benefits in accordance with the current collective agreement.
Sluggish demand
Production of the Brightdrop van started in late 2022, but the Ingersoll facility was not operating at full capacity. After much early promise and some heavy private and public investments, the market for all-electric commercial vans hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped – mirroring the struggles of the North American EV sector at large.
Most recently, the end of U.S. tax credits for electric delivery vehicles and other American regulatory changes regarding emissions have cut into demand even further.
First opened in 1989, the CAMI plant counts some 1,200 workers, who will be waiting uneasily to learn which models – if any - GM decides to produce there. We can expect a statement over the course of today by Local 88 of the Unifor union.