OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - General Motors of Canada Co. or GM Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of General Motors Co. (GM), announced Friday that it's Oshawa Assembly Plant will return to a two-shift operation from a three shift amid the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
However, the company said it is in light of forecasted demand and the evolving trade environment. It added that these changes will help support a sustainable manufacturing footprint as GM reorients the Oshawa plant to build more trucks in Canada for Canadian customers.
GM has been building vehicles in Canada since 1918.The company said it will work with its partners to support employees through the transition.
Meanwhile, Unifor - the union that represents autoworkers at the plant, called for swift action and said, 'GM needs to reverse this short-sighted move before more damage is done.'
'We will not allow GM to barter Canadian jobs to gain Donald Trump's favour. Cutting the third shift at Oshawa Assembly is a reckless decision that deals a direct blow to our members and threatens to ripple through the entire auto parts supplier network,' said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
Unifor said the shift cut comes on the heels of U.S. President Trump's imposition of a 25 percent tariff on Canadian-built vehicles in March.
The Oshawa Plant assembles light and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pick-up trucks for the North American market, vehicles also assembled at factories in the United States and Mexico.
As part of its plans, GM says it intends to reduce Oshawa truck exports to the U.S. and recalibrate the plant for Canadian sales, starting in the fall.
Unifor said GM has announced actions that will result in the permanent layoff of nearly 30 percent of its Canadian hourly workforce over the past 3 weeks.
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy.
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