GM’s Oshawa Plant to Resume Pickup Production in 2022
General Motors’s Oshawa Assembly Plant, which stopped building vehicles in December 2019 and is being converted into a stamping facility, will resume pickup production in 2022.
That’s part of the new tentative deal between the automaker and the Unifor auto workers announced on Thursday morning. Members of the union will vote to ratify the deal on Sunday, with the results expected to come on Monday.
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GM’s planned new investments will include up to $1.3 billion at Oshawa Assembly with the expected hiring of 1,400 to 1,700 hourly workers. With the support of Unifor, construction will begin immediately and include a new body shop and flexible assembly module, according to a statement made by GM Canada president and managing director Scott Bell.
Oshawa pickup production is targeted to begin in January 2022 with the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, including their heavy-duty variants, which currently face high demand. In fact, production was increased in the U.S. this summer to avoid empty stocks.
GM needs those highly profitable vehicles to fund the development and production of future electric models like the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac LYRIQ.
In addition to investments in Oshawa, GM will allocate $109 million to St. Catharines to support added engine and transmission production, as well as $500,000 in operations at the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.
The deal does not cover the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, where the Chevrolet Equinox is manufactured. That facility is on a separate contract that expires in 2021.
GM will now continue discussions with the Ontario and federal governments to secure financial aid like Ford and FCA received earlier this fall.