Hundreds out of work as GM cuts third shift at Oshawa plant

Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association President Flavio Volpe on the Oshawa GM plant cutting their third shift and if there are more layoffs coming.

More than 1,000 workers will be out of a job come Friday morning following news that General Motors (GM) will be cutting the third shift at its Oshawa plant, the union representing employees says.

According to Jeff Gray, president of Unifor Local 222, which represents GM workers in Oshawa, about 500 direct employees will be impacted by the layoffs, along with more than 500 other workers who are employed with companies that are part of the plant’s supply chain.

In a statement, Unifor said the move comes as GM shifts jobs to the United States.

“General Motors has made a clear decision to cave to Donald Trump rather than stand up for its loyal Canadian workforce, making the workers in Oshawa pay for that appeasement with their jobs,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a statement on Thursday.

“It is misguided for General Motors to think it can get away with consistently diminishing their production footprint in Canada and still be the number one seller of vehicles in the Canadian marketplace. GM’s decision is not only short sighted but fails to recognize the mood of Canadians and Canadian workers.”

The automotive manufacturing company initially said it would cut the third shift last year but later pushed the timeline, saying it would operate three shifts at the plant until early 2026.

“As announced last year, Oshawa Assembly will return to two shifts of production beginning February 2, while continuing preparations to build the next generation of gas‑powered full‑size pickups, reinforcing Oshawa’s future in GM’s key full‑size truck program," GM said in a statement.

“Approximately 500 employees will be placed on layoff when the plant returns to two-shifts of production and GM has worked closely with Unifor to support impacted employees through this transition with comprehensive separation packages, retirement support, and other benefits. We thank and recognize the employees impacted for their contributions.”

‘Latest blow’

Unifor, meanwhile, said it presented the company with a “viable plan” to retain the third shift, a proposal they said was rejected by the company.

Unifor described the layoffs as the “latest blow” to the auto sector in Ontario, pointing to job losses at both Motors CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ont. and the Stellantis Assembly Plant in Brampton.

“Even in a brutal trade war auto companies can make different decisions,” Payne continued.

“Decisions that respect the contributions and skilled work of Canadian autoworkers. Decisions that show Canadian consumers that these automakers actually care about the market they sell into, by stepping up to protect Canadian jobs and building here.”

Last year, GM announced plans to hire an unspecified number of temporary employees at its Fort Wayne, Ind., assembly plant to increase production amid U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles.

The U.S. facility manufactures the GMC Sierra truck and the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado.

The Oshawa Plant currently only assembles light and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pick-up trucks.

“I think we are all upset. We launched this truck in 2021. We hit every metric GM wanted to with productivity and safety and quality. Our members took these jobs thinking that they had finally a good job with a good collective bargaining agreement,” Gray, of Unifor, said.

“And a few short years later, because of things that are out of our control… we are losing our third shift. And they are sending 50,000 of our units down to Fort Wayne, Ind., and that doesn’t sit well with us.”

Premier Ford calls layoffs ‘very disappointing’

Speaking about the layoffs at an unrelated news conference on Thursday morning, Premier Doug Ford said the province has a plan to provide support to workers.

“We are going to make sure they have opportunities in the defence sector, life sciences sector, other areas, and we will be there for them 24/7,” Ford said, calling GM’s decision “very disappointing.”

“This goes back to our point that we have to move quicker and faster and make sure that the federal government comes in to support not only these workers but the overall auto sector. We have to be more competitive. We have to get rid of the EV mandate to make ourselves more competitive.”

Gray said the union wants to see the federal government secure a trade deal that will protect the country’s auto workers.

“It is devastating news. We have a large portion of our membership that won’t have a job come tomorrow morning,” he said.

“We are speaking to members, we are speaking to politicians. We will speak to anybody who will listen to us. We have to continue this fight.”