When electric school bus manufacturer Lion Electric opened its sprawling 900,000 square-foot factory in Channahon last year, Gov. JB Pritzker and both Illinois senators attended the ceremony. The facility — the first new vehicle assembly plant to open in metropolitan Chicago since 1965 — was hailed as a source of good jobs and a step forward into a carbon-free future.

Lion Electric, which manufactures electric buses, will suspend its operations at its Channahon facility , the company announced in a press release Tuesday.

Canadian electric bus manufacturing company Lion Electric has laid off its workforce at its Joliet plant and suspended operations. Gov. JB Pritzker attended the opening of the 900,000 square-foot facility,