Electric school bus maker Lion Electric has suspended manufacturing at its Joliet, Illinois facility after laying off nearly four hundred workers – more than half its global employees. The company hopes Canadian real estate developers Groupe Mach can save the day.
The remaining 300-off Lion Electric employees are working to manage the company’s ongoing operations – including sales, deliveries, and customer service – while the executive team engages Groupe Mach in discussions to provide more funding to the cash-strapped electric bus manufacturer.
The 900,000 square-foot Joliet factory opened in July 2023, and is the largest all-electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicle assembly plant in the US. At full capacity, the plant is capable of churning out some 20,000 electric vehicles annually.
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