GM and LG will restart Ohio EV battery production after a seven-month shutdown

Ohio battery production set to restart

Ultium Cells LLC will restart battery cell production at its Warren, Ohio, plant after a 7-month halt. The facility is jointly owned by General Motors and LG Energy Solution and is scheduled to resume production during the week of August 17, 2026.

The plant stopped producing battery cells in January 2026 because consumer demand for electric vehicles had weakened. Tom Gallagher, vice president of operations for Ultium Cells, confirmed the planned restart in an August 12 interview with Reuters.

Plant expects about 1,400 workers

About 1,400 people are expected to be working at the Warren facility when battery production resumes. Before the shutdown, the plant had about 1,330 workers, including 850 placed on temporary layoff and about 480 laid off indefinitely.

A small number of employees returned in May as the plant prepared for operations later in 2026. Tom Gallagher said a majority of workers who had been laid off will resume making batteries on Monday.

The shutdown lasted about 7 months

The Ohio plant remained out of battery cell production for about 7 months after the shutdown began in January 2026. Ultium Cells initially planned to idle production for about 6 months due to weakened electric vehicle demand.

About 850 temporarily laid-off employees were initially expected to return around June. Ultium later moved its expected return to August after reviewing electric-vehicle market conditions in the first part of 2026.

Warren plant opened in 2022

The Warren facility began producing battery cells in August 2022 as Ultium Cells expanded U.S. manufacturing for electric vehicles. It was the first battery cell manufacturing facility opened by the GM-LG Energy Solution joint venture.

Ultium Cells currently lists the Ohio plant with more than 45 gigawatt-hours of annual production capacity. The factory makes pouch cells using NCMA chemistry to power a range of GM electric vehicles across North America.

Ohio makes NCMA battery cells

The Warren plant makes pouch battery cells using nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum (NCMA) chemistry. Ultium Cells says these cells power a range of GM electric vehicles across North America.

The 2027 Chevrolet Bolt uses lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, battery chemistry instead of Warren’s NCMA cells. The Bolt uses LFP cells supplied by Chinese battery manufacturer CATL.

EV demand weakened after tax credit

U.S. electric vehicle demand weakened after the federal clean vehicle tax credit ended on September 30, 2025. Eligible new clean vehicles had qualified for a federal credit of up to $7,500 before that deadline.

GM and other automakers reduced electric-vehicle factory output after the credit ended as demand weakened. Warren employees remained idled in 2026 while Ultium Cells reviewed conditions in the electric-vehicle market.

GM remained No. 2 in U.S. EV sales

GM remained the No. 2 electric vehicle seller in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2026, while Cadillac delivered its best-ever second quarter for EV sales, driven by the OPTIQ and VISTIQ.

The broader U.S. EV market remained small, however, and GM continued to adjust production to match demand. The planned restart of battery-cell production in Warren follows months of reduced EV and battery output.

Detroit EV output was reduced

GM temporarily idled Factory ZERO in Detroit from March 16 until April 13, 2026, to align electric vehicle output with market demand. The plant builds the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac Escalade IQ.

GM had already reduced Factory ZERO output by about 50% when it moved to 1 shift in January 2026. Warren battery cell production is scheduled to resume separately during the week of August 17, after its shutdown began in January.

Tennessee shifted toward storage

GM and LG Energy Solution shifted their Spring Hill, Tennessee, Ultium Cells plant toward batteries for stationary energy storage systems. In March 2026, the companies said the plant would begin producing LFP battery cells for energy storage during the second quarter.

The joint venture said it would spend about $70 million on the conversion and retraining of workers for storage battery production. The Tennessee plant was producing energy storage system batteries rather than electric vehicle batteries.

Tennessee will add LFP cells

The Spring Hill facility is producing lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, cells for stationary energy storage rather than electric vehicles. GM battery chief Kurt Kelty said in June 2026 that GM may no longer pursue LFP chemistry for future electric vehicles.

LG Energy Solution is expanding production for stationary energy storage systems. The company said it planned to raise global energy storage battery capacity above 60 gigawatt-hours during the year, with more than 80% in North America.

GM exits Indiana battery venture

GM sold its 49.99% stake in its Indiana battery joint venture with Samsung SDI in August. Samsung SDI took full control of the project to build a battery factory in New Carlisle, Indiana.

The companies had previously planned a combined investment of about $3.5 billion in the facility. The plant was designed around prismatic and cylindrical battery cells and had been scheduled to supply future GM electric vehicles.

Indiana plant shifts to storage

Samsung SDI plans to use the Indiana facility first to make batteries for energy storage systems after construction is complete. The New Carlisle plant remains under construction and will become Samsung SDI’s first independently operated battery production base in North America.

GM and Samsung SDI have signed a new agreement to develop a next-generation prismatic battery cell for potential future GM electric vehicles. Samsung SDI has said the Indiana plant could later produce those jointly developed cells.

China changed the auto industry’s formula, and GM took notice, adding a wider business angle to GM’s changing strategy beyond U.S. defect lawsuits.

GM and LG reshape U.S. battery sites

GM retains its Ultium Cells joint venture battery plants with LG Energy Solution in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Warren is returning to EV cell production, while the Tennessee plant now makes batteries for stationary energy storage systems.

LG Energy Solution took control of the Lansing, Michigan, battery project after GM exited the venture in 2025. The Lansing site is now planned to produce LFP cells for energy storage applications, including batteries tied to a $4.3 billion Tesla supply agreement beginning in 2027.

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This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.