Unifor's National Auto Director believes there is some hope the General Motors operation in Oshawa can be saved.
The automaker is expected to announce Monday that it will close its' assembly plant in the city, impacting 2,500 direct union jobs, 300 salaried employees and thousands of spin-off jobs.
But Dino Chiodo says the automaker will not be announcing a closure but rather that there is no product allocated to the Oshawa plant past December 2019.
Chiodo says that gives the union an opportunity a recognize where their concerns are, how deeply rooted they are and what they can do to salvage some of this.
He told AM800's The Morning Drive that the Oshawa plant is one of the most productive and most efficient in North America.
"They got $750-million in investment just over a year ago and within six months they went to a full flex plant, launching the brand new Silverado pick-up truck, so they're one of the only plants in North America that can build cars and pick-up trucks," says Chiodo. "So that's pretty amazing to just say that you're walking away from it. So I think there's a lot of conversation that still has to happen, the devil will be in the details."
Dino Chiodo (Photo courtesy of the United Way)
The Oshawa assembly plant, where GM Canada has its headquarters, produces the Chevrolet Impala and the Cadillac XTS cars, the majority of which are shipped south of the border, along with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.
The Oshawa complex is one of three GM manufacturing facilities in Ontario, along with St. Catharines and Ingersoll.
Chiodo says if the plant closes, it will impact more than just the 2,500 workers employed directly at the plant.
That equates to around 25,000 spin-off jobs. So the economy, the ripple in the economy will be felt throughout the province, there's no question," he says.