By Kalea Hall and David Shepardson
DETROIT (Reuters) -GM is temporarily halting production of its electric commercial van at its assembly plant in Ontario due to slow sales, the company and the union representing workers there said.
The Detroit automaker is temporarily laying off 1,200 workers at the plant as a result, according to Unifor, the union representing the workers. The shutdown is not related to recently imposed auto tariffs, the company said.
GM said it was making “operational and employment adjustments to balance inventory and align production schedules with current demand,” at the CAMI Assembly plant where it makes Chevrolet BrightDrop electric vans.
The layoffs will start on April 14, according to the union, with workers returning in May for limited production. Production will temporarily cease until October 2025. During the downtime, GM said it plans to retool the plant to prepare for production of the 2026 model year BrightDrop vans.
When production resumes in October, the plant will operate on a single shift, which will result in the indefinite layoff of nearly 500 workers, the union said.
The automaker said in a statement it “remains committed to the future of BrightDrop and the CAMI plant and will support employees through the transition. This adjustment is directly related to responding to market demand and re-balancing inventory. Production of BrightDrop and EV battery assembly will remain at CAMI.”
Unifor National President Lana Payne in a statement called the move “a crushing blow to hundreds of working families in Ingersoll and the surrounding region who depend on this plant.”
“General Motors must do everything in its power to mitigate job loss during this downturn, and all levels of government must step up to support Canadian auto workers and Canadian-made products,” Payne said.
GM reported sales of 274 BrightDrop vans in the first quarter, up from the 256 reported in the first quarter of 2024.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X that the CAMI layoffs were “deeply painful news for autoworkers in Ingersoll and for workers throughout Canada’s auto industry.”
He added: “My government is fighting to defend our auto sector, protect our workers and build our supply chains in Canada.”
Pierre Poilievre, a Conservative Party leader in Canada who is running for prime minister, said in a post on X that he was committed to protecting Canadian auto workers.
“We will keep them working, so they can keep their jobs as we fight through this mess,” Poilievre wrote. “A Conservative Government will push hard to put an end to these tariffs and get a quick but fair deal that protects our sovereignty and our economy.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Kalea Hall in Detroit, Editing by Franklin Paul, Bill Berkrot and David Gregorio)
