GM would spend nearly $1 billion retooling the plant.
If the deal pans out, retooling would begin immediately and production would start in January 2022.
The Oshawa, ON plant was once the largest of its kind in the world.
GM’s Oshawa, ON plant performed final assembly duties in the full-size trucks up until the end of 2019. When the program ended last December, thousands of employees lost their jobs. Now, if the new deal is ratified, the Silverado and Sierra will return to Ontario and production could start as early as January 2022.
We all know how profitable full-size trucks are in North America. In fact, they are almost single-handedly responsible for the three American automakers’ generally good financial tidings in our markets. General Motors CEO Mary Barra said: “We can’t build enough,”
2020 GMC Sierra 1500 | Photo: GMC
According to Automotive News (subscription required), GM’s investment in the plant will include a new body shop and a “flexible assembly module” that would “support a fast response to strong customer demand” for GM trucks.
If all goes well, GM will begin retooling the plant immediately, and employ between 2,000 and 2,500 over up to three shifts once production of both the light- and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups begins.
