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A General Motors Co. assembly plant in Canada that makes pickup trucks mostly for export to the US will cut down to two shifts from three because of the trade war.
The automaker said it’s reorienting the factory in Oshawa, Ontario, to build more trucks for the Canadian market. The plant is the only GM facility in the country that still produces a consumer vehicle. Another GM factory in Ontario makes electric commercial vans, but it’s set to be idled for months.
The Oshawa plant makes Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks. GM said recently it’s adding 250 new jobs to boost production in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where company also makes the Silverado.
US President Donald Trump implemented 25% tariffs on foreign-made autos in early April, though the administration had made some changes to soften the blow for auto companies. On Thursday, General Motors cut its full-year profit outlook due to as much as $5 billion of exposure to auto tariffs, among the biggest financial hits revealed by any company so far from the trade war.
To the Oshawa workers, “I express my deepest sympathy for them and their families,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Friday, emphasizing that proceeds from the country’s reciprocal tariffs would go to help affected workers.
Canada is allowing automakers to continue importing a certain number of US-assembled cars and trucks, tariff-free, as long as they keep manufacturing vehicles in the country. Those firms must “act in true partnership as well, in maintaining employment and investment in Canada,” Carney said. “If not, there will be consequences for those companies.”
The union representing 3,000 workers at the GM plant criticized the shift cut. Unifor National President Lana Payne called the decision “reckless” and said it would ripple through the entire auto-parts supplier network.
“GM needs to reverse this short-sighted move before more damage is done,” she said in a statement. The union estimates approximately 700 jobs may be impacted if GM proceeds with its plan.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a social media post that the province “will continue doing everything we can to support a strong future for the facility and its workers.”
Unifor said GM is required to meet with the union to discuss options to mitigate job losses. The union plans to also ask if a plant in St. Catharines, Ontario, that supplies engines to the Oshawa factory will be affected by Friday’s decision.
(Adds comments from PM Carney and the number of affected workers, beginning in the fifth paragraph.)
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