Workers from General Motors (GM) Lordstown Plant in Ohio ratified a deal between the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and Ultium Cells for the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Ultium Cells is a joint venture between GM and LG that produces batteries with the same name for the legacy automaker’s EVs. Over the weekend, the company announced that 1,600 hourly workers were represented by the UAW deal.
As per the UAW deal with Ultium, the 1,600 workers under the contract will receive higher wages, overtime provisions, and 70 minutes of breaks per shift. General Motors will also implement health and safety programs for the employees at the Lordstown Plant.
President Biden issued a statement about the agreement. In it, he depicted a contrast between his administration and the Trump administration.
“Five years ago, the previous administration made false promises to Lordstown workers—and then stood by as the community lost jobs and faced economic devastation. Today, Lordstown is a comeback story, and it didn’t happen by accident.
“With the help of my Investing in America agenda, the UAW and companies like General Motors are building the future of autos in America while we bring back good paying union jobs to communities like Lordstown,” President Biden stated.
Slowing EV demand has hit General Motors. The legacy automaker recently reduced its targets for EV production in 2024 from between 200,000 and 300,000 units to between 200,000 and 250,000 units.
General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson believes the company can still be variable profit positive on its EVs in the low 200,000 production range. The Detroit Free Press explains that variable profit positive means the revenue GM earns from selling an EV exceeds the direct costs of producing it. However, the calculation for variable profit-positive products excludes corporate or fixed costs.
“We think we can still do that in, probably Q4 more than the second half. But we still think that’s an achievable goal going forward,” Jacobson said.
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