General Motors Canada has announced it will suspend all production in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement released Friday, GM’s Canadian arm said it would follow in the footsteps of its parent company, which suspended production at its U.S. plants earlier this week.
“Following the recent announcement in the United States, GM Canada will suspend its manufacturing operations,” the company said. “More details on the schedule for each plant will be announced shortly.”
It’s not clear when GM Canada production lines will be back up and running. The company said the “state of production will be reassessed from week to week,” however, and said it will “continue to closely monitor the situation with local unions,” and officials.
Earlier this week, GM announced it had formed an automotive coronavirus task force with Ford, FCA and the UAW. A similar task force has now been set up in Canada, consisting of GM Canada, Ford of Canada, FCA Canada and local labor union Unifor.
CAMI in Ingersoll, Ontario
The largest GM plant in Canada is the CAMI facility in Ingersoll, Ontario, which employs 2,544 people. The next largest facility it operates in the country is the St Catharines Propulsion plant in St. Catharines, Ontario, which employs 1,263 workers.
The Canadian coronavirus task force is expected to meet on Monday to discuss next steps. As of this writing, there are a total of 915 confirmed coronavirus cases in Canada. A total of 11 people have died as a result of the illness in the country, while a further 10 have recovered.
GM is also expected to halt production at its Brazilian assembly plants before the end of the month. Among them will be the Rio Grande do Sul plant, which builds Brazil’s best-selling car, the Chevrolet Onix.
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