GM Canada layoffs hit Oshawa plant, leaving 1,200 autoworkers out of work Friday

The day Oshawa, Ontario, autoworkers have been dreading for months has arrived, as GM Canada is set to cut shifts at a plant in the city, putting more than a thousand workers out of their jobs.

About 1,200 workers across the auto supply chain are expected to complete their final shifts Friday as the company scales back its Canadian operations, according to the union president who represents them.

GM Canada confirmed Thursday that about 500 of those people are its employees.

“We’ve done everything we can … we’ve presented our arguments to General Motors,” Jeff Gray, president of Unifor Local 222, said Wednesday.

GM is cutting one of three shifts at the plant, which will end at 6:30 a.m. Seniority rules will apply, Gray said — meaning higher-seniority members will be moved to the remaining shifts, while lower-seniority members on all three shifts will lose their jobs.

Gray said these workers would be left in a “heartbreaking” situation when they go in for their shift just like any other day, knowing they won’t have a job for the next week.

“You feel very nervous and worried about whether you can continue to provide a livelihood for yourself and your family,” Gray said.

GM issued a statement Thursday saying it has worked with the union to provide assistance to the laid-off workers, including what it calls a “comprehensive severance package, retirement assistance and other benefits.”

Spokesman Ariane Souza Pereira said the plant is going back to two shifts while “preparations continue to build the next generation of gas-powered full-size pickups.”

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the workers who were laid off will find opportunities in other sectors, including defense and life sciences.

National Union says GM is bowing to Trump

The Detroit-based automotive maker said it was cutting shifts at the plant in May. The announcement came a month after US President Donald Trump Tariffs announced targeting the auto sector.

At the time, spokeswoman Jennifer Wright told CBC Toronto that “anticipated demand and the evolving business environment” were behind the cuts.

GM Canada’s latest statement did not mention tariffs. Still, Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement Thursday that GM has “made a clear decision to bow to Donald Trump.”

He said GM is making Oshawa workers “pay for that appeasement by taking their jobs.”

While GM cuts one shift in Oshawa, the company is adding 250 temporary workers Plant in Fort Wayne, India. Both the Oshawa and Fort Wayne plants build the Chevrolet Silverado.

Layoffs at the Oshawa plant were initially scheduled to take place in November, but were delayed until the end of January.

That delay gave union officials more time to lobby the federal government to secure a trade deal with the United States and to pressure GM to reverse its shift cuts.

In Thursday’s statement, Unifor said it had given GM a “viable plan” to maintain the third shift until the union and GM enter contract negotiations this fall — but GM rejected the plan.

When the shift cuts were first announced, Unifor said about 2,000 workers would be laid off. Because of the work done by representatives at the plant, that number has since dropped to between 1,100 and 1,200, Gray said.

But earlier this month, Gray called on national union leaders to step up their support for workers, saying Auto jobs are “disappearing” across the province.

“From a membership perspective, the pushback is not enough,” he told CBC Radio. metro morning.

Speaking Wednesday, Gray said the local union will continue to advocate on behalf of workers to bring more jobs to Oshawa.

He said plans are underway to create programming that would retrain laid-off autoworkers at locations formerly known as action centers in Oshawa and other parts of Ontario.

This programming could include sessions on resume writing skills and basic computer skills, she said.

“We will do everything in our power to make sure this is going as quickly as possible and help members through the transition,” Gray said.

Ford says workers will find opportunities in other areas

GM’s layoffs come on the same day the prime minister is scheduled to meet with Canadian prime ministers in Ottawa, ahead of a busy year that will include a mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Speaking Thursday morning before the meeting, Ford said there is a “plan” to support Oshawa workers who have lost their jobs.

“We are going to ensure that they have opportunities in the defense sector, life sciences sector and other sectors and we will be there for them 24/7,” he said.

Ford addressed Prime Minister Mark Carney directly, saying the federal government needs to support not only GM workers in Oshawa, but the auto sector as a whole.

“We have to be more competitive, Get rid of EV mandate To make ourselves more competitive, and that is my message to the Prime Minister,” he said.

Canadian leaders met periodically last year to discuss the way forward, as Trump’s tariffs continued to punish Canadian industrial sectors.

In December, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress that CUSMA has been “somewhat successful” but that changes need to be made before Trump will agree to extend it.

Greer listed a series of conditions the administration wants to meet to keep the agreement going beyond its 2036 expiration date. These include Canada’s dairy quota system and its online streaming law, which affects tech giants like Netflix, Spotify and YouTube, and ongoing boycotts in some provinces. includes ontarioOf American wine.

Trade negotiations with the United States and Mexico are expected to accelerate later this year as the CUSMA review begins in full swing.

Gray said he’s eager to see what comes out of Wednesday’s meeting. He said he hoped the Prime Minister would encourage the federal government to “continue to pursue” the US and renew CUSMA.

“And (then) we can go back to normal,” he said. “That’s the best answer for us, is to go back to the United States, which has been our most reliable, trustworthy trading partner for the last 100 years.”

Styles, local politicians react

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Oshawa MPP Jennifer French issued a joint statement Thursday calling for an “action plan to provide certainty for Oshawa workers.”

“How many more workers need to lose their livelihoods before a serious auto strategy can be made?” Stiles said.

Meanwhile, French said the fight for Oshawa’s auto future is not over and called on GM, Ford and Carney to plan for that future.

“GM continues to take Oshawa for granted,” he said. “If they plan on selling GM cars here, they have to make them here.”

MP Rhonda Kirkland, who represents Oshawa, said in a statement posted on social media Thursday that she was “heartbroken” for the auto workers who are losing their jobs.

She said she will continue to work to secure a trade agreement with the U.S. that protects Canadian auto manufacturing jobs and ensures fair treatment for autoworkers, adding, “Oshawa deserves nothing less.”

Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter said in a statement Thursday that his thoughts are with GM employees and their families during this “difficult and challenging time.”

“GM’s presence here has brought innovation, investment and thousands of jobs,” he said. “We are proud of Oshawa’s automotive heritage spanning more than a century.”

Carter said the city will continue to work with GM, Unifor and the provincial and federal governments to bring “new advanced manufacturing opportunities and pathways to the great city of Oshawa.”