General Motors (GM) will restart the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, on November 17, 2025, with a single shift and fewer than 400 unionized employees, according to Unifor Local 88. Production of BrightDrop electric vans will resume at a slower pace. One net result, more than 600 layoffs are expected.
Battery production moved to U.S.
While the assembly of the vans is restarting, the new battery module plant that was integrated into the site in 2024 is not. That operation remains suspended until further notice.
Batteries for the EVs will now be imported from the U.S., a direct consequence of the 25-percent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian-made vehicles.
“That's probably what bothers me the most,” said Mike Van Boekel, president of Unifor Local 88. “We were the only ones making batteries in Canada, and now they have to come from the United States.”
A major impact on employment
Before the plant's conversion in 2022 for the production of electric vans, CAMI had approximately 1,500 unionized employees. After several production stoppages and weak demand, the workforce had fallen to nearly 1,200 by the spring of 2025. With the planned restart, fewer than 400 employees will keep their jobs, while more than half will be laid off. Nearly 75 workers have chosen to take early retirement.
A glimmer of BrightDrop hope
Despite the difficulties, GM says it remains confident in the future of the CAMI plant and the BrightDrop program. Sales of the electric vans are growing: more than 2,000 units were sold in Canada and the U.S. in the first half of 2025, more than double the figure from last year.