GM’s Oshawa Truck Plant Closes After 44 Years Of Production
Posted May 14, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After more than four decades in production, GM’s truck plant in Oshawa rolled the last truck off the assembly line Thursday.
The facility, which once employed thousands of workers, officially closed Thursday, becoming the latest victim of the beleaguered auto sector.
“Going into the plant today, it’s like going to a wake, to be quite honest with you, to pay your last respects to a family member or a dear friend,” said CAW Local 222 President Chris Buckley. “I walked up and down those assembly lines and seen the men and women building the last vehicles with tears running down their cheeks, and, to be very honest with you, it brought tears to my eyes.
“Shame on our government at all levels for allowing the best truck plant in the industry to close its doors, and shame on the decision makers on behalf of General Motors in Detroit. The decision makers in Detroit and our government officials today should be hanging their heads in shame.”
General Motors Canada must cut its workforce by more than half by the year 2014 as part of a plan to stay viable in the long term. That means cutting the number of hourly workers from 10,000 now to 4,400 over the next five years.
It’s a dramatic shift from four years ago, when GM Canada employed 20,000 workers.
“It’s a shame it should never have come to this,” said auto worker Sue Stewart. “Workers did everything possible to keep this going. They did everything they were asked from the government and it wasn’t enough. They wanted blood and we’re not about to give them blood.”
The last vehicle to roll off the line, a GMC Sierra Crew Cab worth $47,000, was raffled off for $90,000. Proceeds will go to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Some disgruntled workers walked away from the plant for the last time donning Mexican sombreros to symbolize where their jobs are going.
“It’s the reality of global trade today I guess,” said one. “It’s going happen to a lot more people. All the manufacturing industries will go where cheaper labour is I guess.”
Earlier in the week, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he expected that any aid package for GM would likely result in bigger-than-anticipated sacrifices from taxpayers, unions and the company. The car company has until June 1 to present its restructuring plans to the government.
“We learned some things along the way with Chrysler and I think we might be able to apply those lessons to GM,” McGuinty noted.
“But the solution for GM is going to look different from the one that we came up with for Chrysler because it’s a different entity with different kinds of challenges.”
Meanwhile, the news isn’t all bad for Oshawa – GM plans to launch three of six new products at the car plant there.
