Ultium Cells has cut more than 1,300 jobs at its Lordstown battery plant on Monday as the company pauses production.

The planned layoff comes after company leaders said electric vehicle demand is slower than expected, and Ultium said it plans to use the downtime to make upgrades aimed at flexibility.

Auto industry researchers told 21 News Ultium's plans to adapt during this pause matter because battery technology has changed quickly, and plants have to keep up. 

Auto analysts said the industry is still sorting out what comes next, and the uncertainty in demand is hitting EV-related jobs nationwide.

Lordstown workers are expected to be laid off until summer,  while others are indefinite.

Cox Automotive Director of Industry Insights Stephanie Valdez Streaty and OSU College of Engineering Industry Collaborations Director David Emerling said the lower demand is due to higher costs coupled with policy changes that don't incentivize consumers and investors in the EV market. 

"What we need is more affordable, compelling EVs," Valdez Streaty said, "I think the Lordstown, unfortunately, is just another casualty of what's going on in the overall EV market."

Emerling said hybrids may matter in the near term if they can reduce range anxiety while battery tech continues to evolve, but Emerling and Valdez Streaty said the bigger issue is that companies need a stable environment to plan expensive, long-term projects.

They said that the environment has been disrupted after EV tax incentives went away and tariffs came into play, making battery production more expensive.

"Where we're at right now with the EV industry is turmoil," Emerling said, "That is because of the fact that regulatory people in Washington are kind of changing the landscape fairly quickly."

Despite the uncertainty, auto analysts are confident this stall in EV demand and pains Ultium's facing are temporary, but said updated policies, such as imposing incentives to boost EV growth, would be ideal to save jobs and plants like Ultium.

"I think the Lordstown example is just part of a larger issue with the EV industry. I think, really, the driver is the elimination of the Inflation Reduction Act, so you have the consumer credit that went away, which was for the purchase of new, used, and leasing," Valdez Streaty added, "That eliminated at the end of September, but then you have the 45x credit, which helped manufacturers get funding for EV manufacture for batteries, and that's being phased out."

Ultium said its workers will retain recall and transfer rights under union agreements.

"I don't think EVs are going away," she said, "It's just a huge timeline shift slowdown because of the regulatory changes that happened with the IRA elimination, the corporate average fuel efficiency, the CAFE standards are less stringent, so manufacturers can continue to make trucks and SUVs and not be penalized."

Experts said companies like Ultium are working fast to develop new battery technologies to keep up with the pace.