A battery cell plant jointly operated by LG Energy Solution and General Motors in Warren, Ohio, is set to resume production next week after a seven-month shutdown, according to an LG Energy Solution official. The restart comes as GM adjusts its North American battery strategy in response to changing demand for electric vehicles.
Production at the Ultium Cells facility was halted in January after GM scaled back EV output amid softer-than-expected sales. The plant had temporarily laid off about 850 workers, while hundreds of additional employees were placed on indefinite layoff. With the restart, most of the temporarily laid-off workers are expected to return, bringing the plant’s workforce to roughly 1,400, Reuters reported, citing Ultium Cells Vice President of Operations Tom Gallagher.
The Ohio site is Ultium Cells’ first manufacturing plant and produces battery cells for GM electric vehicles. It has an annual production capacity of about 35 gigawatt-hours. The shutdown followed weakening EV demand, which was also affected by the loss of a federal consumer tax credit worth up to $7,500 per vehicle in September 2025.
The restart is expected to improve LG Energy Solution’s plant utilization rate, which stood at 52.8% in the first half of the year. The company expects utilization to rise to above 60% in the second half.
LG Energy Solution and GM also operate a battery plant in Tennessee through Ultium Cells. That facility has shifted toward producing batteries for energy storage systems instead of focusing solely on EV batteries.
In a separate development, Samsung SDI said earlier this week that it would acquire GM’s 49.99% stake in Synergy Cells, a joint venture formed to build an EV battery cell plant in Indiana. That move would end GM’s participation in the project, while Samsung SDI plans to take full control and use the plant to serve both energy storage and EV battery demand. GM and Samsung SDI also said they would continue their battery relationship through a joint development agreement for prismatic EV batteries.
The series of moves indicates that GM is reassessing its battery manufacturing partnerships as it adapts to slower growth in the EV market.
Source: The Korea Herald
