GM to lay off 700 workers at Oshawa plant, citing U.S. tariffs: union president

General Motors is laying off 700 workers at its Oshawa Assembly plant as it makes changes to shifts due to U.S. tariffs, the president of the union representing workers said Friday. 

The plant, which employs roughly 3,000 people, is moving from a three-shift to a two-shift operation starting this fall, according to a news release from Unifor, which represents workers there.

There will be 700 workers laid off at the plant, in addition to 1,500 people who work in other places throughout the supply chain, said Jeff Gray, president of Unifor Local 222. 

GM spokesperson Marie Binette confirmed in an email the shift change “will impact approximately 700 workers,” though she did not refer to the move as layoffs. 

“We are committed to supporting employees through the transition,” she said.

The move is a “reckless decision that deals a direct blow to our members and threatens to ripple through the entire auto parts supplier network,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne in Friday’s news release. 

“We will not allow GM to barter Canadian jobs to gain Donald Trump’s favour,” she said. 

The cuts come as workers in Oshawa’s auto industry have been bracing for the impact of U.S. tariffs on their livelihoods. President Donald Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on all vehicle imports to the U.S. last month.

GM’s Oshawa plant “will return to a two-shift operation in light of forecasted demand and the evolving trade environment,” spokesperson Jennifer Wright said in an email to CBC Toronto on Friday. 

“These changes will help support a sustainable manufacturing footprint as GM reorients the Oshawa plant to build more trucks in Canada for Canadian customers,” she said. 

The Oshawa plant assembles light and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pick-up trucks for the North American market, which are also assembled at factories in the U.S. and Mexico, Unifor said.

Government ‘fighting hard’ for auto sector, PM says

Prime Minister Mark Carney offered his “deepest sympathy” for affected workers and their families during his first major news conference since winning the federal election.

He said the government is “fighting hard” for the auto sector and is “making sure companies act in true partnership … in maintaining employment and investment in Canada.” 

“If not, there will be consequences for those companies,” Carney said. 

Ford reacts, NDP demands Ontario come up with a plan

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the news is “extremely tough” for workers and their families in a post on X on Friday. 

“These are hard working people who have helped build Ontario’s auto industry,” he said. 

The premier said GM has “reaffirmed its commitment” to the Oshawa plant, adding that it will continue building Ontario-made trucks “for years to come.” 

“We will continue doing everything we can to support a strong future for the facility and its workers,” Ford said. 

Meanwhile, the Stellantis assembly plant in Windsor, which employs roughly 4,500 people, is shutting down next week — though the company has not pointed to tariffs as the reason behind the closure. 

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles called on Ford to deliver “a real plan” to keep auto jobs in Oshawa and Windsor in a statement Friday. 

“Ontario’s auto workers built General Motors and our province invested heavily in Stellantis,” she said in a news release. 

“We cannot just ‘wait and see’ while these companies take a page out of Trump’s playbook and throw the future of thousands of workers and their families into chaos.”

Premature move, union president says 

Payne said General Motors jumped the gun by announcing shift cuts before Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump began talks on a new economic deal, calling the move “premature and disrespectful.”

He will meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday, multiple sources have confirmed to CBC News. 

The union called on the federal government to “review and reconsider” GM’s tariff-exempt status under Canada’s remission framework in Friday’s release. 

This framework grants companies relief from paying tariffs on products from the U.S., according to the government’s website. 

It also called on Carney to meet with automakers to reaffirm their commitment to Canadian investment and production. 

Automobile parts that are compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on trade are exempt from the 25 per cent tariff, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance announced on Thursday. 

But Payne said the new guidance “changes nothing” for the Canadian auto industry.

“It is solely designed to keep U.S. factories running, because they rely heavily on Canadian made auto parts, while continuing to harm Canada’s auto assembly plants,” she said. 

The union said GM intends to reduce Oshawa truck exports to the U.S. and recalibrate the plant for Canadian sales, starting in the fall. 

“The question is … do Canadians buy those products in the same proportions as Americans do?” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’​ Association, in an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Friday. 

“When they don’t, that’s when you see shifts slip.” 

People who want to support the Canadian auto industry should purchase vehicles with VIN numbers that begin with 2, which indicates they were built in Canada, Volpe said. 

Close to 98 per cent of workers at the Oshawa plant were either laid off or went into retirement after GM closed the plant in 2019. Vehicle production resumed in late 2021. 

“GM Oshawa was reopened thanks to the hard work of our members and significant investments by the federal and provincial governments based on a promise to maintain good jobs and production,” said Chris Waugh, Unifor GM Oshawa Assembly Plant Chairperson, in Friday’s news release.

“We will not sit idly by as that promise is eroded one shift at a time.”