It’s more bad news for Ontario’s auto sector.
The union representing workers at GM’s CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll said Friday the company is laying off hundreds of workers starting Monday, temporarily halting work on the BrightDrop electric delivery van — and then reducing production of the vehicle.
“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 in a press release. “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.”
GM Canada confirmed the closure to the Star in an emailed statement, stating the company is “making operational and employment adjustments.”
“GM remains committed to the future of BrightDrop and the CAMI plant and will support employees through the transition,” wrote Natalie Nankil, the company’s director of corporate and internal communications.
Unifor, which represents more than 1,200 workers at the GM plant, said it was informed that temporary layoffs would begin on April 14, with workers set to return in May for “limited production.”
The plant would then temporarily shut down until October, the union said, at which point there will be “indefinite” layoffs of nearly 500 workers as the plant operates on “a single shift for the foreseeable future.”
Friday’s announcement is the latest layoffs to hit Canada’s auto sector this month.
Up to 4,500 workers at the Stellantis plant in Windsor have been on a two-week layoff since April 3, the day U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff on global auto imports went into effect.
According to industry experts as many as an additional 12,000 people in the auto parts industry were alsso off the job due to the Stellantis plant closures in Windsor and Warren, Mich.
Nankil stressed that the temporary closure of the GM plant was not related to Trump’s tariffs — which have also targeted Canadian steel and aluminum.
“This adjustment is directly related to responding to market demand and re-balancing inventory,” Nankil wrote.
Still, Payne brought up the U.S. president’s tariffs, along with his efforts to “weaken EV mandates,” in the press release, arguing Trump’s trade policies are creating uncertainty and putting North America’s electric vehicle industry at risk of falling behind.
“Make no mistake — the world is moving rapidly towards electrification,” said Payne. “If Canada and the U.S. hit pause now, we may never catch up.”
This is not the first time the CAMI plant has temporarily shutdown since the start of Trump’s tariff threats.
Mike Van Boekel, chair of the plant’s Unifor local, told the Star in early March that workers had been told to stay home for two weeks — again for “volume correction” and not the trade penalties.
In Friday’s press release from Unifor, Boekel stressed that union members have “endured so much” and are now facing job losses.
“Our members have the skill, the experience, and the pride to build world-class electric vehicles,” he said, “all we need is the opportunity to keep doing it.”
On the campaign trail, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday he was “incredibly saddened” by the layoffs, and that he had spoken with Boekel.
“We will keep them working, so they can keep their jobs as we fight through this mess,” he said. “A Conservative government will push hard to put an end to these tariffs and get a quick but fair deal that protects our sovereignty and our economy.”
