When it originally shut down production, General Motors’ Oshawa plant in Toronto marked the end of a century-long era producing vehicles. Now, though, as part of a $1 billion CAD (~$770 million USD) deal with Unifor, the automaker plans to revive the facility and bring workers back to the plant in the coming months.
Since December 2019, the plant has transitioned to full assembly to stamping and sub-assembly activities.
“Subject to ratification of our 2020 agreement with Unifor, General Motors plans to bring pickup production back to the Oshawa Assembly Plant,” said GM Canada managing director Scott Bell. As part of the deal, the company also plans to invest in the St. Catherines Propulsion Plant and the Woodstock parts distribution center.
Revamping Oshawa starts right away
The new agreement will retool the Oshawa plant starting immediately. It will then prepare to build both light duty and heavy duty versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra from 2022 forward. Construction will include a new body shop and a “flexible assembly module”. GM says the revamp will help accommodate growing demand for GM’s trucks, including the ability to more readily switch between half-ton and heavy duty production. Starting in August 2021, Unifor president Jerry Dias says the plant will hire between 2,000 and 2,500 workers. Production on the first trucks is slated to begin in January 2022.
For more GM trucks, check out this Chevy Silverado 2500 HD on the Ike Gauntlet, and much more right here on TFLtruck.com.
