General Motors is going to start building trucks at their Oshawa assembly plant, and they're going to hire 500 more workers to do it.
The news comes from a memo circulated by Unifor Local 222, advising their members of the changes. The memo says that the plant will start building trucks in the "November/December time frame," meaning later this year.
There are currently 667 workers on the "Consolidated" line, building 2017 Chevrolet Equinox models. The memo says that they expect enough of those workers to retire when Equinox production stops later this year that the remainder will find work on the new truck line, which will need 535 workers once the conversion is complete.
Oshawa is going to see more than just those jobs being saved, however. The plant is going to add a second shift to the truck line as soon as "the second quarter of 2018." Once that happens, the memo "forecast(s) that another 500 jobs will be added to Truck." The Oshawa Truck Plant previously built GM trucks for 44 years before ending production in 2009.
The memo doesn't make clear just what truck will be built at the plant. The likely suspects are the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, but the memo refers to "the truck being brand new." That may mean a redesigned model of those two trucks, but it could also mean something completely different.
GM's Oshawa assembly plant is also home to the "Flex" line, which builds the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS. Changing the Consolidated line to build trucks is big news for the plant, which was looking at closure just a few years ago.
You may also like
