GM Fairfax plant workers see light at end of tunnel after nearly 2 years of layoffs

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About 750 workers at the General Motors Fairfax Assembly and Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, have been sitting idle, but the union president said the future is looking brighter after nearly two years of layoffs.

Layoffs at the plant have been ongoing since November 2024 as part of a retooling effort for the Chevrolet Bolt EV.

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The plant is currently in production on one shift, with 870 people working.

In September 2025, GM announced it was delaying its second shift.

The plant is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2026. Over that time, Fairfax has built more than 12 million GM vehicles.

According to the plant communications lead, Craig Hover, GM's direct GDP impact in Kansas is $384 million, and every $1 in direct GDP supports an additional 60 cents in Kansas economic activity — making for a total of $600 million in GM-supported GDP.

GM's total supply chain, capital expenditure and operating spending in Kansas in 2025 was $268 million.

Dontay Wilson, president of UAW Local 31 in KCK, said the federal EV tax credit rollback was a turning point.

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"All of that kinda changed after the EV tax credits were taken away,” Wilson said. “The economic plan and outlook for EVs changed drastically after Sept. 30.”

GM put out a statement after Sept. 30 saying it would delay the return of the second shift, which is currently about 750 employees laid off.

The union represents 5,000 active and retired members.

Wilson said layoffs of this scale are not common at Fairfax — the plant hasn't seen anything like this in over two decades.

The financial and emotional toll on workers has been severe.

"Tangibly, you gotta make sure your money's right,” Wilson said. “You gotta make sure you can take care of your family. When you're used to doing that on 100% of your pay, and now you gotta do that with that drastically reduced, that's a big, big deal.”

Wilson opened up about the losses their union family has suffered.

"To be quite honest with you, we've lost a lot of members over the last year and some change,” Wilson said. “Some of which to suicide or things of that nature.”

The layoffs have also had an economic impact on the surrounding area.

"This KCK community, this KC metro area, both sides of the state line has been hurting pretty bad because you've got almost 1,000 people that would be in the economy — would be at your supermarkets, would be at your stores, would be at your restaurants — that just can't anymore," Wilson said.

The union office has on-site resources to help workers in need.

Workers also have contractual benefits and options to transfer to available plants.

The retooling is set to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and is expected to take about three months, with the second shift to follow shortly after.

GM has previously shared the two-shift ramp-up plan with employees.

Plant Director Michael Youngs said he is eager to see the assembly line moving for everyone again.

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The Bolt EV received Car and Driver's EV of the Year award for 2026.

"EV volumes are a little flat, not moving as high as we want, so we're pivoting a little bit, but we still have a ton of EVs out there that hit what the customers want at this time," Youngs said.

Due to expected strong demand for the Equinox, the second shift is expected to return in mid-2027. The plant is also set to build a next-generation Buick compact gas-powered SUV in 2028.

Youngs said the plant is shifting its focus to internal combustion engine, or ICE, vehicles instead of EVs as they begin to build two new gas-powered cars.

"The Equinox for us, it’ll be a high volume plant making a lot of Equinoxes that we’re bringing back into the U.S. to support U.S. manufacturing, so we’re really excited about having that," Youngs said. "It does bring our workforce back to full employment, which is outstanding, and it positions us for the next several years to come."

Wilson said projected numbers could bring the plant up to two shifts with overtime, or even three shifts, and what matters most is taking care of workers.

"As long as you're gonna pay the wage and we're able to take care of our family, and we're able to keep thousands of Kansas City-area folks working, General Motors can decide to build whatever they want," Wilson said. "It's been a long road, but that future is very, very bright for Local 31 and General Motors Fairfax.”

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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