Shock greets news GM to shut Oshawa plant

General Motors will announce Monday it is shutting down all operations in Oshawa, The Canadian Presss confirmed Sunday, throwing at least 2,800 people out of work and ending ties with the city near Toronto that stretch back over 100 years.

A source familiar with the situation says the closure of the assembly plant is part of a shift in the company’s global production.

The huge and modern plant has 2,500 unionized employees and 300 non-union workers.

The union representing more than 2,500 workers at the GM plant says that while it does not have complete details of the announcement, it has been informed that there is no product allocated to the Oshawa plant past December 2019.

Unifor says it “does not accept this announcement,” and is scheduled to meet with GM on Monday. A spokeswoman for the company said Sunday that GM had “no news or comment tonight” and would not be commenting on speculation.

“My entire family has worked at General Motors,” outgoing Oshawa Mayor John Henry told CTV. “My dad was a foreman in the plant. I have two brothers in the plant. My sister worked there in university. I worked there as a contractor.” Amid anxious calls on Twitter for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford to do something save the plant, two local Tory MPs vowed to investigate.

“Extremely concerned about reports regarding potential closure of GM Canada Oshawa operations,” Durham MP Erin O’Toole tweeted Sunday night. He said he and neighbouring Oshawa MP Colin Carrie were “reaching out for information.”

“I have seen the same reports as many in my riding, which claim GM may be closing their operations in Oshawa, and I find these reports gravely concerning,” Oshawa NDP MPP Jennifer French told Global News.

“If GM Canada is indeed turning its back on 100 years of industry and community, abandoning workers and families in Oshawa then this is a callous decision that must be fought,” she told Global News. The current plant opened in 1953 and produces Chevrolet Equinox, Cadillac XTS, Buick Regal and Chevrolet Impala, according to the GM Canada website.

Just three years ago, Oshawa took a hit when GM moved production of the Chevrolet Camaro to Michigan, slicing 1,000 jobs in Ontario.