This is another setback for GM assembly line employees in Canada as an engine-block assembly line in Ontario will close next year.
In this case, the Windsor, Ontario plant which built engine blocks for Cadillac vehicles assembled in China will be closing sometime midway through 2020. Mexico-based Nemak, an automotive parts manufacturer which runs the plant, says that the closure is due to the loss of a Chinese client which purchased 90% of all unit built here.
What’s odd in the original story published by Reuters is that there’s no mention if Cadillac in China is the actual client. The closest relevant detail is that GM’s Shanghai facility no longer needs the supplied parts.
Regardless, the 270 employees at the plant will be out of work within a year. The decision to shut down the line is simple enough: no business can run when 10% or less of its output is to be purchased. Currently, the plant is running at 25% which was a clue that things were not going to end well…
This is a direct result, according to Nemak, of the current Chinese economy slowdown. Late last year, some employees were laid-off with some re-hired in February. Some cuts were performed only a few weeks ago but now it’s official.
