Ontario electric vehicle plant set for temporary shutdown, job losses
GM Canada says it is temporarily shuttering an Ontario production plant and cutting staff because demand for its electric delivery vehicles is lower than it predicted.
On Friday, GM said its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., would be adjusted to respond to changes in demand but emphasized it “remains committed” to the facility.
The production facility makes an electric delivery vehicle.
“Today, GM Canada confirmed CAMI is making operational and employment adjustments to balance inventory and align production schedules with current demand,” a spokesperson told Global News.
The company said the halt was “directly related” to market changes and lower demand for certain electric vehicles.
“Production of BrightDrop and EV battery assembly will remain at CAMI,” the spokesperson added.
Unifor, which represents workers at the facility, said the decision was “devastating” for the area.
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“General Motors must do everything in its power to mitigate job loss during this downturn, and all levels of government must step up to support Canadian auto workers and Canadian-made products,” Lana Payne, Unifor’s national president, said in a statement.
The union said the changes GM has announced will mean a temporary halt on production, followed by reduced production of the electric delivery vehicles at the facility.
Unifor said GM had told it temporary layoffs would begin on Monday, April 14, with workers returning in May for “limited production.”
“After that, production will temporarily cease with operations idling until October 2025,” Unifor said.
“During this downtime, GM plans to complete retooling work to prepare the facility for production of the 2026 model year of commercial electric vehicles.”
The changes will result in almost 500 workers being indefinitely laid off, Unifor said. There are more than 1,200 workers at the plant, which has been producing electric delivery vehicles since 2023.
The production changes come after the announcement of tariffs from the United States on vehicles produced in other countries, which led to the temporary shutdown of a Stellantis production facility in Windsor, Ont.
On April 3, the United States introduced 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports from both Canada and Mexico, where automakers have fluid cross-border supply chains.
Automakers and experts have warned that the tariffs will cause havoc in the highly integrated North American supply chain and force plant closures and layoffs.
That’s a fear Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has worked to attract electric vehicle makers to the province in recent years, has echoed.
Despite the timing, GM said the changes were related to market demand and not the turmoil of auto tariffs.
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