There’s something strange going on at General Motors’ Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas. Until recently, workers there assembled the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac XT4. Now, with both sedans out of production, GM is idling the plant and retooling it to make a different vehicle. Not every worker will be employed during the retooling process. But none of that is the strange part.

Building new models, then pausing again

First, General Motors said the plant would build the 2027 Chevy Bolt EV. Engineers in Detroit designed an all-new generation of the Bolt on schedule. Then CEO Mary Barra unveiled the redesigned EV and said it would have a “limited model run.” GM also announced the Fairfax plant would pivot to the ICE-based Chevy Equinox after producing the Bolt. So far, so good.

Finally, GM put 900 Kansas workers on “indefinite layoff.”

It’s odd wording. An “indefinite layoff” might more accurately be called a furlough. On Sept. 4, the automaker announced 134 senior employees—some who had worked at the factory since 2002—were going on a temporary layoff. Then in October, it expanded that to an “indefinite layoff” of 900.

What’s strange is that the automaker has a timeline for the factory retooling. So you’d think it would give employees a timeline for their layoff. Even if this retooling goes over schedule, a timeline might make both employees and GM investors feel more secure. Perhaps GM is having second thoughts about reopening the plant at all, or is considering cutting some shifts when it does. We’ll just have to wait to find out.