Former General Motors workers in Windsor are feeling a sense of deja vu following the announced closure of the GM plant in Oshawa.
Ten years ago in Windsor, in 2008, the GM Trim Plant closed, followed in 2010 by the closure of the GM Transmission plant.
At its peak, the automaker employed 6,000 workers in Windsor so the news Monday in Oshawa is bringing back old feelings.
Chair of Unifor Local 1973 Retirees Chapter Tony Sisti, which represents GM workers, says his heart dropped when he heard what is happening in Oshawa.
Sisti says it's like a punch in the gut.
"Like when they told us in 2008, my heart dropped down in my stomach," he said. "You get that pit in your gut and you are thinking holy cow, what do we do?"
The closure of the assembly plant in Oshawa will impact 2,500 direct union jobs and 300 salaried workers along with thousands of spin-off jobs.
Sisti says for five years in a row, Windsor workers were given bad news around this time of the year.
"The company again couldn't pick a worse time to tell the employees, just before Christmas, which is traditional for GM, in the Windsor area we were always given bad news in November or December," he said.
The closure of the Windsor plants also forced some families to separate as some workers transferred to Oshawa.
"There were a lot of trim plant members who went to Oshawa to put in their time so that they could get their pension credits, so they could retire, and a lot of them have retired and have returned back to Windsor," Sisti said.
In the past, the company has closed plants in Windsor, Scarborough, St. Therese Quebec and St. Catherines.