GM to close Truck plant in Oshawa for two weeks
General Motors of Canada Ltd. is idling its Truck assembly plant in Oshawa for two weeks at the start of the new year, in another ominous sign for the country’s auto sector.
The automaker confirmed yesterday that it will halt output of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup models because of falling demand in the key U.S. market.
The stoppage follows GM’s decision in August to eliminate a third shift and about 1,200 jobs at the same plant at the end of this month.
“It just keeps getting worse,” said Chris Buckley, president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 222.
GM’s latest move will mean the temporary layoff of about 2,700 workers on two shifts who will receive about 65 per cent of their gross pay through federal Employment Insurance and company supplementary employment benefits.
The Oshawa plant, a big profit producer for GM, assembles about 440 trucks a shift and has generally run flat out in recent years. The two-week halt would reduce output by about 8,800 trucks and also curb parts production by suppliers in the region.
GM is also cutting production at two other plants in Pontiac, Mich., and Fort Wayne, Ind., during the same period.
The Silverado, GM’s biggest seller, and the Sierra account for 22 per cent of the company’s product volume.
The company is cutting output in North America by more than 10 per cent, or 113,000 vehicles, in the first quarter of next year.
Ford Motor Co. is also reducing North American production in the fourth quarter but it has not revealed which plants would temporarily halt output.
The company has Canadian assembly plants in Oakville and St.Thomas.
