One of Canada's leading auto analysts is dismissing all the frenzy over General Motors decision to close its assembly plant in Oshawa.
Dennis Desrosier admits the move is emotional and symbolic, but in the big picture of Canada's auto sector, it's minor.
He says it's 2,500 jobs from an industry that employs over 150,000 people and removes 100,000 vehicles in an industry that assembles two-million.
Desrosier says little attention was paid to the slow deflation of the Oshawa plant over the past 15 years.
"2,500 jobs in the auto sector is really a fly speck," he says. "As hard as it is on the workers and I feel for them, and Oshawa, but Oshawa at one point had 40,000 GM workers now they're down to 2,500. Nobody seemed to make a big deal out of the 37,500 workers."
Desrosier is also dismissing the notion that the plant closure will implode the auto parts manufacturing sector.
"Canadian suppliers who are competitive and have technology advantages will be able to continue to supply the US market like they've been doing for the last 50 years, so initially there may be some adjustment in some suppliers required, but the bulk of the suppliers survive handily," he told AM800's The Afternoon News.
Despite the closure, Desrosier says the only piece of the auto sector in Canada that's shrinking is vehicle assembly.
"The automotive sector, which also includes distributing vehicles, selling vehicles, fixing vehicles, financing vehicles, insuring vehicles is big booming," he says "We've added 120,000 direct jobs outside of the manufacturing sector in automotive since 2010."
Unifor President Jerry Dias is fighting to keep the plant open and while he supports the effort, Desrosier does not believe the union boss will be successful.
Desrosier says the Oshawa jobs won't come back but the pressure on the company could produce other employment opportunities in Canada down the road.