Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, will restart battery cell production at its Warren, Ohio manufacturing facility next week after a seven-month shutdown, bringing approximately 1,400 workers back to the lines to supply large-format NCMA pouch cells for GM electric vehicles.
When Ultium Cells idled its Ohio facility in January, it laid off roughly 1,330 employees. The shutdown stretched past its initial six-month projection by about a month, driven primarily by a slump in consumer demand following the cancellation of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, according to InsideEVs. Now, with second-quarter figures pointing toward a gradual recovery, the infrastructure is spooling back up.
The Engineering Footprint of the Ohio Facility
According to InsideEVs reporting, the facility boasts an annual production capacity exceeding 45 gigawatt-hours. It churns out large-format Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum, or NCMA, pouch cells.
These pouch cells serve as the chemical foundation for the vast majority of General Motors’ electric vehicles.
During the seven-month hiatus, the plant was far from dormant. According to Reuters, a small crew of workers returned to the factory floor in May to prep machinery and retool assembly sequences for the upcoming restart. Tom Gallagher, vice president of operations for Ultium, confirmed in an interview with Reuters that a majority of the laid-off workforce will return on Monday to resume manufacturing, bringing total employment at the plant to 1,400 workers.
Shifting Strategies Across the Joint Venture Landscape
The restart in Warren arrives against a backdrop of sweeping structural changes across GM and LG Energy Solution’s joint ventures. While the Ohio plant prepares to resume pouch cell production, the partnership’s second battery facility in Tennessee has pivoted. That plant now manufactures energy storage system batteries rather than EV cells, and is slated to begin producing low-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells for electric vehicles by late 2027, according to InsideEVs.
Simultaneously, General Motors has altered its partnership model with other battery suppliers. Earlier this week, South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI bought out GM’s stake in an under-construction Indiana joint venture plant. Initially designed to build prismatic cells for EVs under the joint ownership, the Indiana facility will now be converted under Samsung SDI’s direction to manufacture cells focused on energy storage systems.
Consumer demand experienced a dramatic surge in the fourth quarter as buyers rushed to secure the federal tax credit before it was retired, according to InsideEVs. That rush was followed by a steep contraction in the first quarter. However, second-quarter U.S. EV sales rose 14.2%, even as they remained 20.5% below the same period a year earlier. Chevrolet and Cadillac posted meaningful gains during this recovery window, creating the inventory demand necessary to bring the Ultium Ohio lines back to life.
Production Realities and Supply Chain Exceptions
Not all GM electric vehicles rely on the Warren facility’s NCMA chemistry. The Chevrolet Bolt stands as a notable exception in the automaker’s lineup, utilizing an LFP battery pack with cells sourced directly from China, as detailed in InsideEVs coverage.
The ripple effects of the Warren shutdown also hit vehicle assembly directly. While the battery plant sat idle, General Motors idled its EV assembly plant in Detroit, capping output for the GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV, and Cadillac Escalade IQ, according to InsideEVs. With battery cell production resuming in Ohio next week, vehicle assembly lines are positioned to stabilize their own throughput.
As 1,400 workers step back onto the factory floor next week, the ultimate test will be whether second-quarter sales momentum can sustain a 45-gigawatt-hour production engine over the long term.
