GM axing 600 jobs at Ontario plant due to expansion in Mexico, union says
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.
That plant was excluded from negotiations last fall between Unifor and the Big Three automakers, including GM. The CAMI plant is scheduled to have its own negotiations with its roughly 3,000 workers later this year.
News to lay off more than 600 workers at CAMI-GM is a betrayal shows why NAFTA is a terrible deal #cdnpoli #canlab https://t.co/cNOpmbdXjG
“This decision reeks of corporate greed,” Unifor’s national president Jerry Dias said. “It is not based on sales, it is an another example of how good jobs are being shifted out of Canada for cheaper labour in Mexico, and Unifor will not let it happen without a fight.”
Earlier this month, GM announced it would be moving GMC Terrain production to Mexico from the Ingersoll plant, but boosting production of another vehicle, the Equinox, with the extra capacity at the CAMI plant.
Van Boekel says the layoffs were announced Friday morning and are directly linked to the company’s decision to shift production of the Terrain to Mexico.
In a statement, GM said “General Motors Canada provided Unifor advanced notification of labour impacts related to product changeovers and transition at its CAMI facility.”
“We continue to work with our Unifor partners to manage through the adjustment with all measures available to us within the collective agreement,” spokeswoman Jennifer Wright said.
Ottawa weighs in
Asked for comment, Navdeep Bains, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and economic development, said the government is “concerned about the impact of job losses on workers and their families and our thoughts go out to those affected.”
“We remain optimistic about the strength and future of Canada’s automotive industry,” Bains said.
The move comes against the backdrop of a new administration in the U.S. that has threatened to tear up NAFTA and slap a punitive tariff on companies that make cars outside the U.S. in places like Mexico, which makes about two million cars a year bound for the U.S. market.
The non-partisan think-tank Center for Automotive Research recently estimated that tearing up NAFTA would directly cost 31,000 U.S. auto manufacturing jobs.
Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gm-unifor-ingersoll-1.3955128?cmp=rss