500 factory workers who assemble the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra are beginning their final shift today. General Motors announced its closing of the third shift at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Unifor Local 222 estimates the move will kill 1,200 jobs in the local supply chain. The shutdown leaves Canada at a crossroads.
GM threatened to cut this third shift in May 2025. The announcement came one month after Trump levied tariffs on Canadian-assembled cars and trucks. In concert with the Canadian cuts, General Motors will be adding 250 temporary employees to its truck-building plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This reflects the industry-wide trend to leverage automation and overtime to build more vehicles with fewer employees. Jeff Gray, Unifor Local 222 president, responded to the cuts. “We did everything we could … we’ve made our arguments to General Motors.”
Ontario Premiere, Doug Ford, argues that more can be done. He called for more federal support for workers in the industry. “We have to get rid of the EV mandate to make ourselves more competitive, and there’s my message to the prime minister.”
But Canada appears to be moving in the opposite direction. It’s slashing tariffs on up to 49,000 Chinese-built vehicles annually—many of which will likely be EVs. Premiere Ford said of the laid-off workers, “We’re going to make sure they have opportunities in the defence sector, life science sector, other areas, and we’ll be there for them 24/7.” Gray added that plans are underway to retrain the laid-off auto workers.
