GM cuts Oshawa shift, plans to lay off another 700 workers
OSHAWA, Ont. — The North American auto crisis continues to blow north as General Motors Canada announced it will lay off the third shift at its Oshawa Chevy Impala plant in February.
About 700 workers will be affected. The closure is indefinite, but supposedly temporary.
A nearby Oshawa truck plant is already scheduled to close in the New Year.
The cuts are part of thousands of other layoffs in the sector over the past few years.
Stats Canada reported this week that close to 71,000 jobs were lost in Canada last month — the worst single monthly drop since 1992. Most of the jobs were in manufacturing and many were in automotive or related sectors.
The news comes as carmakers present restructuring plans to Ottawa and the Ontario government in return for billions in bailout money.
Meanwhile, GM is appealing to the Canadian Auto Workers for concessions. Reportedly, the company wants hourly labor costs scaled back and workers to give up some of their paid time off.
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