Workhorse Group Inc. said it hasn't yet secured the financing needed to buy a General Motors Co. factory in Ohio, but the deal is moving forward.

An attorney for the electric-truck maker told a court on Tuesday that a $300 million loan from institutional investors announced last month is not yet in place. Workhorse needs the financing to complete the $4 million purchase of the Lordstown, Ohio, factory, which GM idled in March. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Workhorse attorney Robert P. Riley told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath in Wilmington, Del., that the company is "working feverishly" to secure the financing and that an announcement could come "soon."

walrath said she would give Workhorse more time to secure the financing, but she cautioned the company that it needs to show progress.

"I'm not going to give you forever," she said.

Workhorse, which makes electric delivery vans, has been in talks to sell a minority stake to United Auto Workers retirees. The deal would give the retirees a 12% stake in the company and $50 million in cash.

UAW Vice President Terry Dittes has said the union is committed to helping Workhorse succeed in its effort to buy the factory.

Workhorse also is in talks with several strategic partners, including an unnamed automaker, about building vehicles at the factory.

Workhorse has said it plans to build electric pickup trucks and vans at the factory.

The deal is seen as a way to save jobs at the factory, which employs about 1,700 workers.

GM idled the factory as part of a restructuring that included the closure of five other plants in the U.S. and Canada.

The company has said it will invest $2.5 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles by 2025.