GM to slash up to 600 jobs in Ontario, union says
January 27, 2017
By The Canadian Press
Jan. 27, 2017 – Union officials say General Motors is cutting up to 600 jobs at its assembly plant near London, Ont.
Mike Van Boekel, spokesman for Unifor Local 88, says the layoffs will take effect in July at the CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., which currently employs 2,800 Unifor workers.
Unifor’s national president says the slashed jobs are being transferred to Mexico, where labour is cheaper.
Jerry Dias says the decision “reeks of corporate greed” and is a clear sign that NAFTA must be renegotiated.
GM Canada says it gave Unifor advance notification of how product changeovers would affect workers at three Ontario plants, adding it will continue to work with the union to help manage the adjustment.
When asked whether layoffs were in the works at other Ontario facilities, a spokeswoman said that Friday’s announcement related only to “an employment impact at CAMI due to the changeover of older model Equinoxes to the next-generation Equinox.”
News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2017
