GM installs robots at flagship EV plant after laying off 1,300 workers
General Motors has installed 50 robotic arms at its Factory Zero electric vehicle plant in Detroit, Michigan, while over 1,000 workers remain indefinitely laid off from temporary layoffs announced in March. The United Auto Workers union has criticized the move, arguing that the company could recall workers instead of investing in automation.
General Motors has installed approximately 50 robotic arms at its flagship electric vehicle plant, Factory Zero, in Detroit. The robots, manufactured by Japanese company FANUC, are designed to assist in attaching components to vehicles on the assembly line. The installation comes as more than 1,300 workers are still out of work following a temporary layoff in March, with no workers recalled yet. These temporary layoffs followed permanent layoffs of 1,200 workers at the same plant in October 2025.
United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 22 President James Cotton expressed anger over the new robots, stating that the company could bring back some laid-off workers instead. Andrew Bergman, a laid-off union organizer, said that technological development has the potential to make work safer and allow shorter work weeks without pay cuts, but in the hands of corporate leaders it is used to boost profits and eliminate jobs.
Other automakers are also pursuing automation: Stellantis and Ford already use FANUC robot arms, and Hyundai plans to deploy Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robots at its EV plant in Georgia by 2028.
During the same week in June, two gatherings in Detroit highlighted contrasting perspectives on automation. The Reindustrialize Summit featured startup founders praising robots for enabling superhuman manufacturing, while the UAW Constitutional Convention saw President Shawn Fain warning that humanoid robotics and mass automation threaten worker wages and employment amid rising inequality.
