GM and LGES restart Ohio battery cell production after seven-month halt

Production at the Ultium Cells plant in north-eastern Ohio will resume next Monday – with most of the temporarily laid-off workers set to return to the site, Reuters reports. In total, around 1,400 people are expected to work there again.

Cell production was halted in January 2026 due to declining demand for EVs. After a seven-month hiatus, the joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution (LGES) will now restart manufacturing battery cells for the US carmaker’s electric vehicles. The restart comes as GM and LGES have aligned their North American battery capacities more closely with shifting demand. This adjustment is particularly evident at the second Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where the partners are investing $70 million to retrofit production lines. The goal is to manufacture LFP cells for stationary energy storage systems in the future.

However, the conversion in Tennessee does not signal a complete shift away from EV batteries. Ultium Cells describes it as a diversification of the site, with plans to produce cells for both stationary storage systems and electric vehicles in the future. Spring Hill is part of a broader strategy: LG Energy Solution aims to offset weaker-than-expected demand for electric vehicles by expanding its energy storage business. The company plans to increase its global production capacity for energy storage systems to over 60 GWh by 2026, with more than 80 per cent of this capacity located in North America.

GM has also responded to weaker demand. At the beginning of the year, the group took billion-dollar write-downs related to its EV business. This was partly due to dampened demand expectations following the end of the US tax credit of $7,500 for new EVs in September 2025.

Meanwhile, GM is restructuring its other battery partnerships. According to Reuters, Samsung SDI acquired GM’s stake in the joint venture for a battery cell factory still under construction in the state of Indiana earlier this week. The restart of production in Ohio highlights a different focus: there, GM and LGES are ramping up their EV battery capacities again after a seven-month pause, while Spring Hill demonstrates how the partners are simultaneously broadening their cell production strategy.

reuters.com