GM’s CAMI Plant Put on 5-Month Halt, Demand for EV Vans to Blame
General Motors will temporarily halt and then reduce production of the Chevrolet BrightDrop electric delivery van at CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, Unifor announced last Friday.
The automaker has informed Unifor that CAMI, which employs more than 1,200 workers, will initiate temporary layoffs starting today, April 14. Some employees will return in May for limited production. After that, production will temporarily cease with operations idling until October 2025.
- Also: GM to Build Battery Modules at CAMI Plant in Ontario
- Also: GM’s BrightDrop EV Vans to Be Sold Under Chevrolet Brand
During this downtime, GM plans to complete retooling work to prepare the facility for production of the 2026 model year of commercial electric vehicles.
When production resumes in October, the plant will operate on a single shift for the foreseeable future, Unifor said. The reduction is expected to result in the indefinite layoff of nearly 500 workers.
“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.”
To be clear, GM’s decision is primarily based on market demand and not related to the newly imposed U.S. tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, as is the case with Stellantis’ Windsor plant in Ontario.
Following sales of nearly 2,000 units in 2024, only 18 Chevrolet BrightDrop vans were sold in Canada during the first quarter of this year and another 274 in the U.S., according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center in Detroit.