The news
Lear plans to open a highly automated seat plant in Orion, Michigan, in 2027 and use it as a blueprint for its global manufacturing network, per Supply Chain Dive. The plant will make seats for General Motors’ Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Lear expects automation to reduce conversion costs by 10% to 15%.
“We own the IP, we control the road map,” said Raymond Scott, Lear’s president and CEO.
The details
Two automated storage and retrieval systems anchor the plant. One will handle raw components such as foam, while the other will store finished seats. A team Lear acquired through its purchase of ASI Automation developed both systems.
Overhead storage and delivery, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots and a four-directional storage system will move materials around the facility.
The plant will also automate trailer loading and end-of-line testing.
Smart ovens and AI vision inspection will support production and quality checks.
Lear’s software will schedule production lines and flag deviations in cycle times.
The Orion facility brings together technology Lear has built through a series of acquisitions. These include WIP Industrial Automation, seating materials specialist Thagora Technology and Industry 4.0 specialist InTouch Automation. The plant is the culmination of a decade-long effort tied to IDEA by Lear, a strategy the company unveiled about two years ago.
Lear plans to apply the model to other programs, including Ford's Super Duty trucks. “We are moving towards automated execution,” Scott said.
The plant is opening as Michigan’s auto parts workforce remains well below its 2018 peak. Motor vehicle parts manufacturers employed 108,900 people in August 2026, down 21% from 137,400 in October 2018, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Employment in the sector fell 2.3% over the past year.
The sharpest drop came during the pandemic shutdowns in 2020, when the number of jobs fell to about 55,000.
What’s next
Lear is targeting a 2027 start for Orion. Its first results will show whether the automation delivers the projected 10% to 15% reduction in conversion costs and can be replicated across other plants.
(Photo: Alberto Rodríguez / Unsplash)
