WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - General Motors (GM) is scaling back production of its all-electric BrightDrop delivery vans at its Canadian plant, which will leave the facility idle for much of the year.
The CAMI Assembly Plant will scale back from two shifts to one, resulting in the loss of 500 jobs. Operations will be idled for approximately 20 weeks starting next month, with production expected to resume in October.
Further, the battery pack assembly at the facility will be paused during the weeks of April 24 and April 28, in advance of the extended shutdown.
The auto giant said the decisions are not related to President Donald Trump's tariffs.
'This is a crushing blow to hundreds of working families in Ingersoll and the surrounding region who depend on this plant,' said Unifor National President Lana Payne. '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.'
GM informed Unifor that CAMI Assembly will initiate temporary layoffs starting April 14 with workers returning in May for limited production. After that, production will temporarily cease with operations idling until October 2025. During this downtime, GM plans to complete retooling work to prepare the facility for production of the 2026 model year of commercial electric vehicles.
The union attributed the production cuts to recent actions by U.S. President Donald Trump, specifically his decision to impose tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles and auto parts, which they say contributed to the issue.
'The reality is the U.S. is creating industry turmoil. Trump's short-sighted tariffs and rejection of EV technology is disrupting investment and freezing future order projections,' said Payne. 'This is creating an opening for China and other foreign automakers to dominate the global EV market while the North America industry risks falling behind.'
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