General Motors to Rehire 700 Workers for $70 Million Energy Storage Batteries
General Motors and LG Energy Solution's Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee will recall 700 UAW workers this quarter to produce batteries for grid and data center storage using a $70 million retooling. The shift from EV battery production follows $7.6 billion in 2025 EV losses and sluggish EV adoption.
1. Plant Retooling and Workforce Recall
Ultium Cells' Spring Hill facility is recalling 700 UAW workers this quarter after an initial January furlough, advancing the return-to-work date from July to support new energy storage production.
2. Investment for Energy Storage Production
GM and LG Energy Solution are investing $70 million to retool the plant and retrain employees to manufacture batteries for grid and data center storage systems instead of electric vehicles.
3. Financial and Market Drivers
The move follows $7.6 billion in losses from downshifting EV production in 2025 and slower near-term EV adoption, leading GM to realign capacity toward higher-margin battery storage markets.
4. Remaining EV Battery Plans
GM has not specified if Spring Hill will revert to EV battery output and still plans to announce the U.S. production site for its lithium manganese-rich cells by 2028.