GM to cut one shift at Oshawa assembly plant

General Motors is citing forecasted demand and the evolving trade environment for reasons behind the reduction.

Aerial shot of GM Oshawa assembly plant — *The GM Oshawa assembly plant builds Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks. – CNW Group/Unifor*

General Motors is cutting its three-shift operation at its Oshawa assembly plant down to two, the company announced.

The reduction is expected to take effect this fall.

“GM’s Oshawa Assembly will return to a two-shift operation in light of forecasted demand and the evolving trade environment. These changes will help support a sustainable manufacturing footprint as GM reorients the Oshawa plant to build more trucks in Canada for Canadian customers,” the company said in a brief news release.

“GM Canada’s record sales have enabled us to invest $2.6 billion locally since 2020 in new programs, including upgrades at Oshawa for next-generation gas-powered trucks. GM has been building vehicles in Canada since 1918, and we are implementing a plan to keep building here for Canadians for another 100-plus years. The company will work with our partners to support employees through the transition.”

What’s built there?

The company builds light-duty and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks for the North American market. These pickup trucks are also assembled in the United States and Mexico.

A portion of the Oshawa plant also supports aftermarket parts focused on stamping, related sub-assembly and activities for GM, the company said.

Union’s response

Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, is calling on the automaker to reverse this decision.

“We will not allow GM to barter Canadian jobs to gain Donald Trump’s favour. Cutting the third shift at Oshawa Assembly is a reckless decision that deals a direct blow to our members and threatens to ripple through the entire auto parts supplier network,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a news release. “GM needs to reverse this short-sighted move before more damage is done.”

The union further said this move by GM is premature as it was announced even before U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney could meet to discuss a new economic deal.

The union said GM produced 151,000 vehicles in Canada in 2024 but sold nearly 300,000 vehicles in Canada. Most of the GM vehicles sold here were imported from factories in the U.S.

“Trump’s tariffs are designed to crush Canadian production – but GM doesn’t get a free pass to abandon its commitments, and the U.S. doesn’t get to free ride in Canada,” Payne said in the release. “GM has had strong support from workers, the community, and governments. Canadians invested millions to revive this plant. Cutting jobs now has consequences. The company has six months to fix this.”

Note to readers: The author of this blog is a Unifor member in his day job, which is not related to the automotive sector.