GM to halt production at Oshawa truck plant
06-03-2008, 02:37 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
GM to halt production at Oshawa truck plant
Not a good time if you work for GM.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...s.html?ref=rss
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...s.html?ref=rss
GM to halt production at Oshawa truck plant
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | 11:58 AM ET Comments165Recommend104CBC News
Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors, says higher gasoline prices have ushered in permanent changes to the auto industry. (Bradley C. Bower/Associated Press)General Motors said Tuesday it will halt production at its pickup truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., axing about 2,500 jobs in the process. The Canadian Auto Workers promised an all-out fight against what it called an "illegal" betrayal.
The Oshawa plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, is expected to close in 2009, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said during a press conference in Wilmington, Del., prior to the company's annual meeting.
Three other GM plants that assemble pickups or sport utility vehicles are also scheduled to be closed — in Janesville, Wis., Moraine, Ohio, and Toluca, Mexico. The company does not plan to allocate any new products to the four plants slated for closure.
Wagoner said higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behaviour, and rapidly affecting the auto industry sales mix.
"We at GM don't think this is a spike or a temporary shift. We believe that it is, by and large, permanent," he said.
As part of the consumer shift away from large trucks and SUVs, GM plans a 2010 launch of a new Chevrolet compact car, which will be built in Ohio. Wagoner also said the company has approved the launch of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle, which is tentatively slated to be built in Detroit.
Wagoner said GM is reviewing the future of the Hummer brand.
U.S. sales of GM trucks were down 15 per cent in the first three months of the year. In March, its truck sales in both the U.S. and Canada plunged 22 per cent, as the rising price of gas cut into sales of trucks and SUVs worldwide.
'Nothing short of betrayal': union
In May, the CAW reached an agreement with GM to postpone a 900-worker layoff at the Oshawa truck plant until September 2009.
Chris Buckley, the chair of the Canadian Auto Workers master bargaining committee with GM, said he felt betrayed by the company's move.
"We just ratified a new three-year collective agreement on May 16. We gave General Motors some cost savings to remain competitive here in Canada. General Motors felt comfortable enough to agree with the tentative agreement. They committed to products in this plant … and as of today they've pulled that product out from underneath us. It's nothing short of betrayal," Buckley said.
CAW president Buzz Hargrove slammed GM for announcing the closure of the Oshawa truck plant just weeks after working out a new labour deal.
"This plant is General Motors' best-quality, best-productivity, lowest-cost producer of half-ton trucks … and they're closing it," Hargrove said.
"This decision is unfair, it's unjust, it's unwarranted, it's illegal, it violates our collective agreement, and we're going to do everything in our power — and we have power," he told reporters.
"We are not going to allow this to happen."
Closure of the plant means GM will no longer produce trucks in Canada and will be reduced to one auto plant in Oshawa and a share of a joint-venture plant in Ingersoll, Ont.
Tuesday's news comes just weeks after the closure of a GM transmission plant in Windsor, Ont., which affected 1,400 workers.
GM said that closure was due to a market shift from the four-speed automatic transmissions made in Windsor to more fuel-efficient six-speed transmissions.
Detroit's Big Three automakers have cut tens of thousands of jobs in the last few years as they struggle to turn around their struggling operations amid market gains by their Asia-based rivals.
North American automakers have been slower to adjust their product lineups to include more smaller vehicles and fewer gas-guzzling SUVs.
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 | 11:58 AM ET Comments165Recommend104CBC News
Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of General Motors, says higher gasoline prices have ushered in permanent changes to the auto industry. (Bradley C. Bower/Associated Press)General Motors said Tuesday it will halt production at its pickup truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., axing about 2,500 jobs in the process. The Canadian Auto Workers promised an all-out fight against what it called an "illegal" betrayal.
The Oshawa plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, is expected to close in 2009, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said during a press conference in Wilmington, Del., prior to the company's annual meeting.
Three other GM plants that assemble pickups or sport utility vehicles are also scheduled to be closed — in Janesville, Wis., Moraine, Ohio, and Toluca, Mexico. The company does not plan to allocate any new products to the four plants slated for closure.
Wagoner said higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behaviour, and rapidly affecting the auto industry sales mix.
"We at GM don't think this is a spike or a temporary shift. We believe that it is, by and large, permanent," he said.
As part of the consumer shift away from large trucks and SUVs, GM plans a 2010 launch of a new Chevrolet compact car, which will be built in Ohio. Wagoner also said the company has approved the launch of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle, which is tentatively slated to be built in Detroit.
Wagoner said GM is reviewing the future of the Hummer brand.
U.S. sales of GM trucks were down 15 per cent in the first three months of the year. In March, its truck sales in both the U.S. and Canada plunged 22 per cent, as the rising price of gas cut into sales of trucks and SUVs worldwide.
'Nothing short of betrayal': union
In May, the CAW reached an agreement with GM to postpone a 900-worker layoff at the Oshawa truck plant until September 2009.
Chris Buckley, the chair of the Canadian Auto Workers master bargaining committee with GM, said he felt betrayed by the company's move.
"We just ratified a new three-year collective agreement on May 16. We gave General Motors some cost savings to remain competitive here in Canada. General Motors felt comfortable enough to agree with the tentative agreement. They committed to products in this plant … and as of today they've pulled that product out from underneath us. It's nothing short of betrayal," Buckley said.
CAW president Buzz Hargrove slammed GM for announcing the closure of the Oshawa truck plant just weeks after working out a new labour deal.
"This plant is General Motors' best-quality, best-productivity, lowest-cost producer of half-ton trucks … and they're closing it," Hargrove said.
"This decision is unfair, it's unjust, it's unwarranted, it's illegal, it violates our collective agreement, and we're going to do everything in our power — and we have power," he told reporters.
"We are not going to allow this to happen."
Closure of the plant means GM will no longer produce trucks in Canada and will be reduced to one auto plant in Oshawa and a share of a joint-venture plant in Ingersoll, Ont.
Tuesday's news comes just weeks after the closure of a GM transmission plant in Windsor, Ont., which affected 1,400 workers.
GM said that closure was due to a market shift from the four-speed automatic transmissions made in Windsor to more fuel-efficient six-speed transmissions.
Detroit's Big Three automakers have cut tens of thousands of jobs in the last few years as they struggle to turn around their struggling operations amid market gains by their Asia-based rivals.
North American automakers have been slower to adjust their product lineups to include more smaller vehicles and fewer gas-guzzling SUVs.
06-03-2008, 04:40 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
imagine that,rising fuel costs are to blame,wtf were they thinking all along,corporate heads up their azzhats.
06-03-2008, 05:07 PM
#3
Team Owner
GM is in trouble - slowing sales of trucks/SUVs just makes it easier for them to start the trimming of fat. GM needs to downsize bigtime, and they can't just do it in the US (where it needs to be done most) - they need to spread it out a bit so as to make it seem like they aren't just trying to decrease US workforce only. It is hard to compete with slave labor in China!
06-04-2008, 07:37 AM
#4
Le Mans Master
Those of us who remember the first oil crisis in the early 70's and the subsequent ones have seen this before BUT this is not the same and I am afraid that the Big 3 have been asleep at the switch for too many decades to fully recover. Consumers have been moving to the Japanese and Korean vehicles in huge #'s for years with GM collecting huge profits off their large trucks, SUV's and vans. I have no idea where gas/oil prices are headed next but the green movement combined with these latest gas price surges have reinforced in most of the younger buyers that Toyota, Honda and Hyundai are the routes to go with smaller more fuel efficient vehicles and in their minds more reliable (although the Big 3 have made big gains in this area). Many here trash and make fun of the "ricer mentality" but it is really no different than the muscle car era in the 60's. The consumer has definately benefited from the increased competition in the last 30 years cars are more economical, better quality, safer etc. This tread will continue so the Big 3 will likely become the Big 5 or 6 over the next decade in N. America - car buyers will continue to speak loudly through their purchasing decisions and from the sales declines they are voting against Gm and Chrysler at this point.
06-04-2008, 09:28 AM
#5
Drifting
Thread Starter
Union blockades GM headquarters in Oshawa
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...e.html?ref=rss
Union members set up a blockade outside General Motors' Canadian headquarters on Wednesday, a day after the automaker announced it was halting production at four factories across North America.
Between 20 and 30 trucks have blocked the entrance to GM's corporate headquarters in Oshawa, Ont., Canadian Auto Workers Local 222 president Chris Buckley told CBC. About 100 union activists and local leaders are gathered at the site.
"Nobody is going into GM’s head office as long as we're standing here today," he said, noting that workers have been allowed to cross the blockade on foot, but not with their vehicles.
Union members are demanding a meeting with GM executives and an explanation of the company's decision to close its pickup truck plant in Oshawa. Buckley said the union wants GM to reverse its plan, which will leave about 2,600 employees out of work.
"This decision will have an absolutely devastating impact, not only on 2,600 of my members, but throughout this community, throughout our province."
The Oshawa plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, is expected to close in 2009, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday during a news conference in Wilmington, Del., prior to the company's annual meeting.
Three other GM plants that assemble pickups or sport utility vehicles are also scheduled to be closed — in Janesville, Wis., Moraine, Ohio, and Toluca, Mexico.
Closure an 'illegal' betrayal: union
The CAW has promised an all-out fight against what it called an "illegal" betrayal. In May, the CAW reached an agreement with GM to postpone a 900-worker layoff at the Oshawa truck plant until September 2009.
As part of that agreement, GM also promised that the Oshawa plant would be employed to work on the next generation of light-duty pickup trucks, Buckley said Tuesday.
"I find it very hard to believe in the last two weeks things have gotten any worse than they were when they committed that."
He said that if the company refuses to manufacture pickup trucks at the plant, it must replace them with another vehicle in order to keep workers on the job.
GM, however, has said it does not plan to allocate any new products to the four plants slated for closure.
Wagoner said Tuesday that higher gasoline prices are rapidly changing the auto industry sales mix, as consumers shift away from large trucks and SUVs.
GM's U.S. sales of trucks were down 39 per cent in May, compared with the same month last year. GM's overall sales of all vehicles were down 30 per cent year-over-year.
"It doesn't make sense to have a plant producing vehicles that nobody is going to be buying," said David Paterson, GM Canada's vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs.
Paterson pointed out that the company currently has three shifts building Chevrolet Impalas at the Oshawa car plant, and there are plans to bring back about 600 people from layoff to begin startup work on the new Camaro, which will go into production at the end of this year.
Buckley said he understands the impact rising fuel costs and a strong Canadian dollar have had on the auto industry, but pointed out that the company intends to continue making pickup trucks in Mexico and the U.S.
Union activists will continue their blockade "as long as it takes," Buckley said, although there has been no directive for workers to walk off the job.
“I am encouraging all of my members to stay on the job and continue to build the best trucks and cars in the industry.”
Between 20 and 30 trucks have blocked the entrance to GM's corporate headquarters in Oshawa, Ont., Canadian Auto Workers Local 222 president Chris Buckley told CBC. About 100 union activists and local leaders are gathered at the site.
"Nobody is going into GM’s head office as long as we're standing here today," he said, noting that workers have been allowed to cross the blockade on foot, but not with their vehicles.
Union members are demanding a meeting with GM executives and an explanation of the company's decision to close its pickup truck plant in Oshawa. Buckley said the union wants GM to reverse its plan, which will leave about 2,600 employees out of work.
"This decision will have an absolutely devastating impact, not only on 2,600 of my members, but throughout this community, throughout our province."
The Oshawa plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, is expected to close in 2009, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday during a news conference in Wilmington, Del., prior to the company's annual meeting.
Three other GM plants that assemble pickups or sport utility vehicles are also scheduled to be closed — in Janesville, Wis., Moraine, Ohio, and Toluca, Mexico.
Closure an 'illegal' betrayal: union
The CAW has promised an all-out fight against what it called an "illegal" betrayal. In May, the CAW reached an agreement with GM to postpone a 900-worker layoff at the Oshawa truck plant until September 2009.
As part of that agreement, GM also promised that the Oshawa plant would be employed to work on the next generation of light-duty pickup trucks, Buckley said Tuesday.
"I find it very hard to believe in the last two weeks things have gotten any worse than they were when they committed that."
He said that if the company refuses to manufacture pickup trucks at the plant, it must replace them with another vehicle in order to keep workers on the job.
GM, however, has said it does not plan to allocate any new products to the four plants slated for closure.
Wagoner said Tuesday that higher gasoline prices are rapidly changing the auto industry sales mix, as consumers shift away from large trucks and SUVs.
GM's U.S. sales of trucks were down 39 per cent in May, compared with the same month last year. GM's overall sales of all vehicles were down 30 per cent year-over-year.
"It doesn't make sense to have a plant producing vehicles that nobody is going to be buying," said David Paterson, GM Canada's vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs.
Paterson pointed out that the company currently has three shifts building Chevrolet Impalas at the Oshawa car plant, and there are plans to bring back about 600 people from layoff to begin startup work on the new Camaro, which will go into production at the end of this year.
Buckley said he understands the impact rising fuel costs and a strong Canadian dollar have had on the auto industry, but pointed out that the company intends to continue making pickup trucks in Mexico and the U.S.
Union activists will continue their blockade "as long as it takes," Buckley said, although there has been no directive for workers to walk off the job.
“I am encouraging all of my members to stay on the job and continue to build the best trucks and cars in the industry.”
