GM stops vehicle assembly in Oshawa due to disruption from U.S. strike

GM’s Oshawa, Ont. assembly plant. Photo: GM

OSHAWA, Ont.—Approximately 1,850 unionized workers have been temporarily laid off with pay from General Motors’ Oshawa, Ont. plant as the ongoing strike by the United Auto Workers union in the U.S. reverberates through the North American auto industry.

General Motors said Friday that all vehicle production at the Oshawa plant has been halted.

“We have seen disruption of our vehicle assembly work at the Oshawa Assembly Plant due to the UAW strike. We plan to resume these operations as quickly as possible upon resolution of the UAW strike,” GM spokeswoman Jennifer Wright said in a statement.

The company stopped truck production on Tuesday, sending about 1,200 hourly workers home due to a lack of parts with more than 30 GM operations in the U.S. shut because of the strike by some 49,000 UAW workers.

On Friday, GM also halted production on its flex line in Oshawa that produces the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS and employs about 650 workers.

Wright said work continues at stamping operations in Oshawa, a parts plant in St. Catharines, Ont., and its CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., which makes sport utility vehicles.

Unifor expects two-thirds of the St. Catharines plant to shut down next week, leading to another 700 temporary layoffs, while it’s not sure when Ingersoll might be affected.

United Auto Workers members at GM’s U.S. operations walked off the job for the first time in over a decade on Monday over issues including wages, health care, and job security.

On Thursday, UAW vice-president Terry Dittes reported many unresolved issues in the talks but said progress was being made. He made the comments in a letter to union members.

Related: AP Source: GM’s offer to UAW would add lower paying jobs [Canadian Manufacturing]

—With a file from the Associated Press