Automotive News Canada - June 2017 - v2 - 6

* JUNE 2017

GM OSHAWA
FACTS
* General Motors Oshawa
has been producing vehicles since 1918.
* The Oshawa Truck
Assembly was originally based in downtown
Oshawa before it moved
to the Autoplex facilities,
where the entire operation
is located south of the city.
The truck operation closed
in 2009.

Multiple models are built on GM's flex line
at Oshawa Assembly. When renovations
are complete, it will be the only GM line in
North America able to handle both cars and
pickups at once. ( P H O T O : J O E K N Y C H A )

Silver(ado) lining

for GM Oshawa
Assembling
Silverado and
Sierra pickups
is an opportunity
to win more truck
work, says union
local president
By PERRY LEFKO
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

UNION LEADERS AT THE
General Motors Oshawa
Assembly plant east of
Toronto are optimistic that
GM's commitment to finishing full-size pickups there will
lead to eventual full production of the Chevrolet Silverado
and GMC Sierra in Canada.
It could lead to bigger and
greater things, said Local 222
President Colin James in an
interview.
James said the pickup "shuttle" program will see shells of
the two truck models shipped
from Fort Wayne, Ind., to
Oshawa for final assembly. GM
has yet to publicly reveal its
plans and would not comment
as to whether the Silverado
and Sierra would be finished at
Oshawa Assembly.
James told Automotive News
Canada that no other plant in
North America builds cars and
trucks together on the same
line. "Hopefully in the future
we'll be building them right out
of our facility from scratch.
"That will be great for us,
for the community and our supplier plants because [when] we
get more work, they get more
work."
Since GM and Unifor agreed
to a four-year, $554-million contract deal last year, there have
been various reports that the
Oshawa plant would finish the
Silverado. Now there is word

General Motors will not confirm that GM Oshawa will finish
assembly of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, however
Unifor Local 222 says it's going to happen. ( P H O T O : G M C A N A D A )

Unifor hopes that GM's full-size pickups will eventually be
built from scratch in Oshawa. ( P H O T O : G M C A N A D A )
the Sierra will also be finished
there.
A GM official would not discuss specific details. "Work
is well under way at Oshawa
Assembly on investments taking place in the plant to support
exciting new model and product
changes," said Jennifer Wright,
manager of corporate and internal communications. "Beyond
that we are not commenting
on or confirming details of the
project."
James said last July that
some workers would be laid
off because of the closing of
the consolidated (single-vehicle) assembly line, but will be
recalled around November.
The consolidated line
builds the overflow of the
Equinox utility vehicle for
CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll,

He said Unifor just completed a three-year deal with Lear's
branch plant in Oshawa to supply seats for the trucks. Lear
currently provides seats for
vehicles scheduled to be built at
the plant through 2019. James
said because of the new agreement, some laid-off members
will now be called back to work
and some new employees might
be hired.
"At the end of the day we
have a future for our members
and they'll be doing the truck
work," James said. "The bargaining (in 2016 contract negotiations) for us was about having
a future for the young people.
At the time we were just trying
to get a lifeline [because] once
there is an announced (plant)
closure, the writing is on the
wall. In my lifetime at General
Motors I've seen lots of these
facilities close, only to see nine
new plants pop up in Mexico."
He said the hope is that
GM Oshawa will be rejuvenated, creating more work for the
plant.
With the cost of the
Canadian dollar today, it makes

* The building that was used
to assemble the trucks now
houses some suppliers and
is called The Supplier Park.
* The entire GM Oshawa
footprint is eight million square feet (750,000
square metres).

sense to invest in Canada, he
said. "We will never be able
to compete with Mexico and
China on a cost-to-cost basis,
however if you're looking at
quality and productivity we're
way ahead."
James said his membership is willing to build whatever vehicles are brought to the
facility.
"It's about General Motors
Canada getting more and more
of the market share they once
had," James said. "If we start
producing top-notch trucks,
we'll go back to the old days
where we had a successful
truck plant and we'll start getting more and more business.
"Because of the demand for
trucks out there today, (GM)
is actually losing some market
share to competitors. Many customers want Canadian- or U.S.made trucks. They do not want
a truck that's made in Mexico
or in China."- ANC

It's about General Motors
Canada getting more and
more of the market share
they once had.
COLIN JAMES

President, Unifor Local 222

Ont. The previous-generation
Impala was also built there, for
fleet sales in the United States.
The line will close permanently July 8.
GM is spending $400 million to upgrade the flex line.
Flex refers to the line's ability
to produce multiple different
vehicles at a time. The plant
currently produces the Cadillac
XTS, Chevrolet Impala, Buick
Regal and Chevrolet Equinox.

NEW HIRES POSSIBLE
James said that starting in
January, work will begin on
double-door half-ton trucks at
30 jobs per hour on the flex line,
but he said a second shift to
be added at the end of the second quarter next year might
involve hiring as many as 500
new employees.

Unifor Local 222 President Colin James says that as many as
500 people will be hired when a second shift is added at the
end of the second quarter of 2018. ( P H O T O : P E R R Y L E F K O )

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - June 2017 - v2