GM cuts EV production in Canada, cites Trump backpedal
NATIONALIZE GM UNDER WORKERS CONTROL
By AFP
October 21, 2025
General Motors is ending production of electric vehicles at one of its plants in Canada - Copyright AFP/File Jorge Uzon
General Motors said Tuesday it was ending production of an electric vehicle at a plant in Canada, a further blow to the country’s auto sector tied to President Donald Trump’s opposition to EVs.
Canada’s auto industry has been battered by Trump’s global tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, but GM’s decision to stop production of an EV van in Ingersoll — about 160 kilometers (99 miles) west of Toronto — was not directly linked to the trade war.
GM made a specialized zero-emission delivery van at the Ingersoll plant, used by companies like FedEx for urban deliveries, but the company said demand for the vehicles “developed much slower than expected.”
“The elimination of tax credits in the United States (for EVs) has made the business even more challenging,” GM said.
Trump has slashed support for EVs, ending a tax credit of up to $7,500 for vehicle purchases.
That has forced a pivot by automakers like GM, which had aggressively invested in EV capacity throughout the presidency of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
Canadian autoworker union Unifor said GM’s announcement will impact more than 1,000 jobs.
“After billions of dollars in public support to build an EV future, Canada cannot allow companies to simply walk away the moment there is pressure from Washington or turbulence in the market,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne.
Canada has hoped to become a major player in the auto industry’s shift to EVs, given its substantial deposits of the critical minerals essential for EV batteries.
The country has pitched itself as an ideal location for end-to-end EV production, where the minerals could be extracted, processed, and then brought to plants for battery-making.
But that bet appears to have been badly timed.
Experts from Western University said last month that eight EV manufacturing plants in Ontario had received a combined Canadian $43.6 billion ($31 billion) in government subsidies.
Five have already been forced to suspend or delay their activities amid a softening in EV demand.
By The Canadian Press
Updated: October 21, 2025
General Motors has announced an end to production of its electric delivery van at its Ingersoll, Ont., plant just a week after Stellantis said it would be moving production planned for its Brampton, Ont. plant to Illinois.
The two automakers cutting planned production in the province in as many weeks has labour leaders and politicians signalling more aggressive efforts to push back against the companies in an effort to save the industry.
“We have to stand up and say enough is enough, we’re fighting back,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne.
She wants government to be ready to use counter-tariffs against automakers, which companies currently have a reprieve from as long as they keep their footprint and employment in Canada.
While there’s a balance to strike between courting companies and punishing them, Payne said the current approach clearly isn’t working as the roughly 3,000 workers in Brampton and more than 1,000 in Ingersoll no longer have a clear future ahead.
To stop the trend, companies need to feel pressure from more than just the Trump administration, she said.
“The only way that we can keep production in Canada, and make sure we’re keeping these jobs here and saving the auto industry, is these companies have to feel pressure from us too. That is critically important.”
Provincial and federal leaders have also signalled a shift to a stronger response, including the federal government last week threatening to sue Stellantis for breach of contract by cutting its Canadian footprint.
Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday that after speaking with Unifor and Ontario leaders they had agreed to create a response group to make a more co-ordinated fight for the auto industry.
“We need to make sure that we fight for these jobs, that there are new models coming back to Ingersoll, and that GM has a bright future here in Canada,” said Joly before heading into a cabinet meeting.
Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said he’s already expressed to GM his disappointment.
“The message was very clear, this is not acceptable,” he said. “But the real point is this assault on the Canadian auto sector has to stop.”
He said the province is reviewing contracts in place with both GM and Stellantis after both it and the federal government provided funding to the companies to invest in the auto plants they’ve now left in limbo.
All three parties met with Stellantis on Monday, and Payne said she was encouraged to see both governments backing up labour.
“We’re going to be working together with both levels of government to hold the feet of these companies to the fire and to say you made commitments here, we expect you to live up to them,” said Payne.
General Motors said the decision to end production of the BrightDrop vehicle was demand-related, and it wasn’t moving production elsewhere.
The company had already temporarily cut production in April before fully idling the plant in May, leaving more than 1,200 unionized workers temporarily laid off. The plant was supposed to restart operations in November with a single shift that would have meant around half that number heading back to work.
Kristian Aquilina, president of GM Canada, said in an interview that there are no firm plans in place for the plant.
“With this news just fresh, we’ll now assess the future opportunities for the plant,” Aquilina said.
“We’re very energized now as a result of this news to find other solutions, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’re looking at various opportunities.”
Aquilina said the decision to end production of the BrightDrop had nothing to do with tariffs, but others say the trade war is having an effect on the company’s decisions.
Payne said the plant was hit both by Trump’s decision to hit Canada with tariffs and to dismantle EV supports.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said that the uncertainty caused by tariffs has likely contributed to the decision to simply end production, rather than replace it with another product.
“They could have put that Equinox production back where they took it from,” said Volpe.
“They chose not to because the uncertainty around this Trump tariff war.”
The plant previously produced the popular Chevy Equinox model before shutting production in 2022 to retool the plant for the BrightDrop.
He said he’s encouraged that the company has idled the plant, rather than formally closed it, but that the federal government also needs to be prepared to use what means it has to ensure automakers to stay in Canada.
That includes both incentives like the $5 billion restructuring fund to help companies produce for the Canadian market, as well as sticks like tariffs.
“You have to use every lever that you think you have.”
By Ian Bickis
With a file from Nick Murray in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.
GM shares soar on better tariff outlook and EV backpedal
By AFP
October 21, 2025
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has shifted investment away from electric vehicles in response to the policies under President Donald Trump - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File CHIP SOMODEVILLA
John BIERS
General Motors shares soared Tuesday after reporting strong results as it adjusts strategy over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and slashing of economic support for electric vehicles.
The giant US automaker — which has faced tough questions over the impact of Trump’s policy pivots — reported better than expected third-quarter profits and boosted some full-year projections.
The good results came despite a $1.6 billion hit to write down EV investments and $1.1 billion in tariff costs in the third quarter.
Profits fell 56.6 percent to $1.3 billion, while revenues dipped 0.3 percent to $48.6 billion.
But shares rocketed up more than 15 percent in a sign investors believe better profitability lies ahead after GM’s heavy lifting in recent months to reposition the company.
“When we have a clear challenge in front of us, that’s when the team does their best work,” Chief Executive Mary Barra said on a conference call.
“We don’t sit around and you know look to blame others. We just say, ‘Okay, here’s the situation, how are we going to adjust to it and how quickly can we do it?”
– Pivot away from EVs –
GM reported increased deliveries in the United States and China compared with the prior-year period, while vehicle pricing remained solid, with dealer inventories below year-ago levels.
Executives described the US market as “resilient” with still-healthy demand for GM’s fleet of gasoline-powered vehicles, which is dominated by sport utility vehicles and trucks.
GM also scored a jump in EV sales in the United States in a quarter that culminated with the September 30 expiration of a US tax credit of up to $7,500 for vehicle purchases. Executives said EV sales are on track for a drop in the fourth quarter but are expected to stabilize in 2026.
GM earlier this month announced the $1.6 billion cost hit from the changes in EVs.
The automaker had been aggressively investing in EV capacity throughout the presidency of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. It announced in 2021 a target of having its cars and trucks emissions-free by 2035.
Barra, in a letter to shareholders, said EVs “remain our North Star,” but that the company’s pivot was needed in recognition that the transition in the United States will take longer.
“By acting swiftly and decisively to address overcapacity, we expect to reduce EV losses in 2026 and beyond,” Barra said.
At the same time GM has pulled back some EV capacity, it has bolstered investments in US plants in response to the tariffs.
In June, GM announced $4 billion in investments to expand production of plants in Michigan, Kansas and Tennessee in a plan that also shifts towards a greater mix of vehicles with internal combustion engines.
– Tariff policy tweaks –
Barra had a trying relationship with the White House during Trump’s first term. On Tuesday, she thanked “the President and his team” for adjusting tariff policies, including a shift on Friday that lets the company offset some of the costs of tariffs on imported parts through 2030.
GM now sees its 2025 tariff cost hit at between $3.5-$4.5 billion, down $500 million from an earlier forecast.
The company projected full-year adjusted profits of between $12 billion and $13 billion, up from the prior range of $10-$12.5 billion.
Executives declined to go into detail on their outlook for next year, but Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said “we do expect that 2026 can be better than 2025.”
Analysts at JPMorgan Chase have estimated that GM’s 2026 results could benefit $1 billion from a US-South Korea trade agreement that has yet to be finalized and another $1 billion annually from Trump’s watered down fuel economy rules.
“The overall impression is of a company firing on all cylinders within the context of those factors that management can control, and with improving visibility with regard to those factors outside management’s control,” said the JPMorgan note.
By AFP
October 21, 2025
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has shifted investment away from electric vehicles in response to the policies under President Donald Trump - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File CHIP SOMODEVILLA
John BIERS
General Motors shares soared Tuesday after reporting strong results as it adjusts strategy over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and slashing of economic support for electric vehicles.
The giant US automaker — which has faced tough questions over the impact of Trump’s policy pivots — reported better than expected third-quarter profits and boosted some full-year projections.
The good results came despite a $1.6 billion hit to write down EV investments and $1.1 billion in tariff costs in the third quarter.
Profits fell 56.6 percent to $1.3 billion, while revenues dipped 0.3 percent to $48.6 billion.
But shares rocketed up more than 15 percent in a sign investors believe better profitability lies ahead after GM’s heavy lifting in recent months to reposition the company.
“When we have a clear challenge in front of us, that’s when the team does their best work,” Chief Executive Mary Barra said on a conference call.
“We don’t sit around and you know look to blame others. We just say, ‘Okay, here’s the situation, how are we going to adjust to it and how quickly can we do it?”
– Pivot away from EVs –
GM reported increased deliveries in the United States and China compared with the prior-year period, while vehicle pricing remained solid, with dealer inventories below year-ago levels.
Executives described the US market as “resilient” with still-healthy demand for GM’s fleet of gasoline-powered vehicles, which is dominated by sport utility vehicles and trucks.
GM also scored a jump in EV sales in the United States in a quarter that culminated with the September 30 expiration of a US tax credit of up to $7,500 for vehicle purchases. Executives said EV sales are on track for a drop in the fourth quarter but are expected to stabilize in 2026.
GM earlier this month announced the $1.6 billion cost hit from the changes in EVs.
The automaker had been aggressively investing in EV capacity throughout the presidency of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. It announced in 2021 a target of having its cars and trucks emissions-free by 2035.
Barra, in a letter to shareholders, said EVs “remain our North Star,” but that the company’s pivot was needed in recognition that the transition in the United States will take longer.
“By acting swiftly and decisively to address overcapacity, we expect to reduce EV losses in 2026 and beyond,” Barra said.
At the same time GM has pulled back some EV capacity, it has bolstered investments in US plants in response to the tariffs.
In June, GM announced $4 billion in investments to expand production of plants in Michigan, Kansas and Tennessee in a plan that also shifts towards a greater mix of vehicles with internal combustion engines.
– Tariff policy tweaks –
Barra had a trying relationship with the White House during Trump’s first term. On Tuesday, she thanked “the President and his team” for adjusting tariff policies, including a shift on Friday that lets the company offset some of the costs of tariffs on imported parts through 2030.
GM now sees its 2025 tariff cost hit at between $3.5-$4.5 billion, down $500 million from an earlier forecast.
The company projected full-year adjusted profits of between $12 billion and $13 billion, up from the prior range of $10-$12.5 billion.
Executives declined to go into detail on their outlook for next year, but Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said “we do expect that 2026 can be better than 2025.”
Analysts at JPMorgan Chase have estimated that GM’s 2026 results could benefit $1 billion from a US-South Korea trade agreement that has yet to be finalized and another $1 billion annually from Trump’s watered down fuel economy rules.
“The overall impression is of a company firing on all cylinders within the context of those factors that management can control, and with improving visibility with regard to those factors outside management’s control,” said the JPMorgan note.
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