GM Bites Bullet and Opts to Close 9 Plants and Cut 30,000 Jobs before 2009
As part of a cost cutting plan that sees Canada's GM workers suffer less from the ensuing fallout than its UAW brothers and sisters
south of the 49th, the impact on some 3,900 individuals and their families will be just as devastating when Oshawa reduces Plant 1 from three lines to two next year, and then finally in 2008, shutters Plant 2 completely, the same year it closes down its St. Catharines, Ontario, Street West powertrain parts plant - and this only eight and a half months after the automaker's March 02, 2005 announcement that it would reinvest $2.5 billion CAD (2.1 billion USD), what was to be the largest and most comprehensive automotive investment in Canadian history, into GM's Canadian operations.
Today's announcement from DaimlerChrysler Canada, on the other hand, where it promises to invest a total of $768 million (649 million USD) in its Canadian facilities, almost appears opportunistic this close to a federal election campaign, but news that the automaker, riding high in profits due to an exciting product lineup that has its Brampton plant working around the clock to keep up with demand, may be music to the ears of GM workers destined to be looking for work.
Currently
DaimlerChrysler Canada directly employs approximately 12,000 workers, not including the thousands of employees working within its 475 strong Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealer network. And it only makes sense that along with the new investment it will be on the lookout for skilled workers for its new Windsor Assembly Plant paint facility, scheduled to be operational by 2007, and most likely needing trained employees for upgrades to its Windsor and Brampton Assembly Plants, which will switching to enhanced flexible manufacturing processes in order to respond to fluctuating market demand by building multiple vehicle models and model variants on the same assembly line. DaimlerChrysler is also investing more into its University of Windsor/DaimlerChrysler Canada Automotive Research and Development Center.
As part of a cost cutting plan that sees Canada's GM workers suffer less from the ensuing fallout than its UAW brothers and sisters
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| The Oshawa, Ontario plant that builds the Chevrolet Impala (shown) and Monte Carlo will be losing its third shift mid-year 2006. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Today's announcement from DaimlerChrysler Canada, on the other hand, where it promises to invest a total of $768 million (649 million USD) in its Canadian facilities, almost appears opportunistic this close to a federal election campaign, but news that the automaker, riding high in profits due to an exciting product lineup that has its Brampton plant working around the clock to keep up with demand, may be music to the ears of GM workers destined to be looking for work.
Currently
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| The Oshawa, Ontario plant that builds the Buick Allure will be closing in 2008. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |