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Pickup Production To Return At Oshawa Assembly As GM Canada Reaches Tentative Deal With Union

General Motors Canada and Unifor have agreed to a new tentative agreement that will see vehicle production return at Oshawa Assembly.

Under the new agreement, which has yet to be ratified by Unifor members, GM Canada will invest $1 billion-$1.3 billion CAD in the Oshawa Assembly plant to begin manufacturing pickup trucks at the facility. GM Canada did not say which of its pickup truck models would be built at Oshawa Assembly. The plant previously handled the final assembly of the GM K2XX-based Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 for local Canadian consumption.

In addition, GM Canada will also invest $109 million CAD in its St. Catharines propulsion plant to “support added engine and transmission production,” the automaker said, along with $500,000 in its Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre to support continued operations at the facility. Unifor had previously expressed a desire to obtain new future production for St. Catharines to replace the six-speed automatic transmission that is built there, which is expected to go out of production in about 18 months or so.

“Subject to ratification of our 2020 agreement with Unifor, General Motors plans to bring pickup production back to the Oshawa Assembly Plant while making additional investments at the St. Catharines Propulsion Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre,” GM Canada president and managing director Scott Bell said in a prepared statement. “GM Canada plans to continue discussions with the Ontario and federal governments. We look forward to working closely with Unifor on these projects following ratification of our tentative 2020 agreement,” he added.

Construction at Oshawa Assembly is expected to begin immediately. Upgrades to the plant will include a new body shop and new flexible assembly module, which will “support a fast response to strong customer demand for GM’s new family of pickup trucks,” the automaker said.

GM shut down Oshawa Assembly in 2019 after it killed off the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS sedans that were built there. As noted previously, the plant also completed final assembly of the K2XX Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which were sold alongside the newer GM T1-based Chevy and GMC trucks as a cheaper alternative. The automaker has been using the floor space in the facility for parts production and facemask production throughout 2020.

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Comments

  1. Good for Oshawa!

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  2. If they are not electric, I don’t want one

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    1. The customers who buy gas and diesel trucks support EV production in a roundabout way! Per GM’s release for this story:

      “Pickups are GM’s largest and most important market segment in Canada and across the continent. They also help GM fund our transition to the electric, autonomous and highly connected future we see ahead.”

      Reply
  3. Excellent!

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  4. Will the St. Catharine’s propulsion plant finally figure out how to repair their 8 speed transmission that is a nightmare to many owners? They should simply replace these transmissions as needed with a new correctly designed transmission instead of simply putting a “Band-aide” on them until the warranties expire. The lawsuit against GM for their transmissions should force them to replace the transmissions with ones that work. That’s what we, the consumers paid for when we bought our trucks.

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    1. You should have done your home work Ricky before spreading false information. Only the 6T41 is currently machined and assembled in St. Catherines .

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      1. FYI…..GM 8 speeds are produced at GM’s Toledo Transmission plant along with various RWD 6,8 and 10 speed automatics. One FWD automatic is built there, the 9 speed.

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  5. Oshawa Built GM trucks . Thank goodness production is returning to this historic location.
    Could this be a location for the Hummer 2022 trucks, too?
    Could this be a plant to ship production kits of GM trucks to Australia with right hand drive?

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    1. No on the Hummer. 100% of that production will be in Detroit.

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  6. Hallelujah! As someone whose company felt a sting when Oshawa closed this is great news! I’m very happy for the GM Oshawa workers who will be called back. No offense to any of the other GM plants I go to regularly but Oshawa folks really were a cut above. This is a good move by GM.

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  7. YES!

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  8. Years ago, when GM was building pickup trucks in Oshawa, of all the GM plants, that plant had the highest quality of finished product. I just talked to the former mayor of Oshawa, John Gray, he says they are going to be built from the ground up this time, not a partial assembly like the last PU trucks made there. Great, Thanks to Ontario premier Doug Ford, for getting your team involved to make this happen.

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  9. The Toronto TV news tonight had great coverage of this story. The January 2022 time period is when the first GM 2500 and 3500 pickups will come off the line. Then 5 months later the 1500 pickups will start coming off the line.

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  10. I find it funny how no one bothers to say “build you vehicles in the USA” when it’s Canada, but when it is Mexico, people lose their minds. 🤔

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    1. Implying that we are racists eh? Did you know that the Mexicans work for less than half of the hourly salary of Americans and Canadians? Does that matter to you?

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      1. Have you had conversations with Mexican auto workers? Do you know how grateful they are to have employment as an autoworker? I have spoken with these people first hand. They take great pride in their work, as these sort of jobs are not easy to get.

        I don’t disagree that they should be paid more. They definitely should. You have to consider how the cost of living in Mexico is relative.

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        1. I don’t mind if the company saves some money on assembly and it reflects in the cost of the car.

          But, if there is the choice between identical trucks assembled at Mexico or US, I will choose the one made in the US.

          Let them make the cheap cars down there like the Trax and let the $60k pickups be made in the US.

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        2. There is a reason the Auto factories are not in major cities in Mexico. Dirt cheap labor. I never said I begrudge any person a good job. They do the same work with less advanced tools they deserve higher pay, regardless of the cost of living.

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  11. Ola sjw! But have you seen the quality of product that comes from there? It won’t be relative to you when you pay 50 grand for piece of crap, pinche gringo.

    Adios

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    1. I have no problem with Mexico building GM trucks. I have a problem with the stupid low wages that the workers are paid. And the Mexican auto union is more corrupt than the UAW!

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  12. Okay are the pickups that will be going to Oshawa for production are they now being built in Mexico?
    Could someone post on this, please!

    Reply

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