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GM cuts production at Canadian plant as strike hits U.S. parts shipments

Oshawa facility operating at half capacity as UAW strike in the United States takes a toll on supply chain.

The truck production line at GM's plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Photo: GM

General Motors (NYSE: GM) cut production at one of its Canadian plants as the strike of U.S. autoworkers disrupted parts shipments in its North American supply chain. 

The Oshawa Car Assembly facility in Ontario was operating at half capacity as of Sept. 18, with its truck production line halted. 

“The plant is doing everything it can, and trying to be as proactive as possible to mitigate this,”  said GM Canada spokesperson Jacqueline Thomson.

GM moved to curtail operations at Oshawa after nearly 50,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike on Sept. 15, slowing the flow of parts from its U.S. plants. 


The plant builds Chevrolet Impalas and Silverados, and the GMC Sierra. 

Thomson could not provide details about the affected parts, but said GM was looking for alternative sources.

Meanwhile, GM has temporarily laid off 1,200 its 2,400 workers at Oshawa. So far, the U.S. strike hasn’t affect GM’s other Canadian plants, CAMI Automotive and St. Catherines. 

GM plans to end vehicle production at the Oshawa plant at the end of 2019. The plant will be converted into a part-stamping and autonomous vehicle testing facility with a scaled-back workforce of 300.


Nate Tabak

Nate Tabak is a Toronto-based journalist and producer who covers cybersecurity and cross-border trucking and logistics for FreightWaves. He spent seven years reporting stories in the Balkans and Eastern Europe as a reporter, producer and editor based in Kosovo. He previously worked at newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the San Jose Mercury News. He graduated from UC Berkeley, where he studied the history of American policing. Contact Nate at ntabak@freightwaves.com.