General Motors is cutting way back on making electric vehicles after estimates found lower-than-expected demand for them.

According to GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson, the decision to slow production will save the company $1.5 billion next year. The car giant originally planned to produce 100,000 EVs by the end of 2023 and sell more than 400,000 through 2024.

Mr. Jacobson said GM is abandoning those goals but did not specify its new projections.

GM CEO Mary Barra wrote to shareholders, “We are also moderating the acceleration of EV production in North America to protect our pricing, adjust to slower near-term growth in demand, and implement engineering efficiency and other improvements that will make our vehicles less expensive to produce and more profitable.”

The models affected by the change in policy include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.

Despite the slowdown in production, GM still plans to keep up with the rest of the industry and be all-electric by 2035.

The change in production comes as the United Auto Workers continues to put pressure on the automaker. This week, after a better-than-expected earnings report, the striking workers walked out of GM’s Arlington, Texas, plant. The work stoppage will hurt the production of GM trucks and will jar revenue.

Also this week, GM announced it expects to lose $800 million in pretax earnings for the year and $200 million per week after.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.