As 49,000 United Auto Workers in the U.S. strike against General Motors, there’s a risk the walkout could shut down GM Canada’s plants and auto-parts makers in Ontario.
GM Canada says it is monitoring the situation closely for any impact to Canadian operations.
The North American auto industry is highly integrated, with assembly plants here in Canada reliant on parts coming from the U.S. and Mexico.
GM has three plants in Ontario, in Ingersoll, Oshawa and St. Catharines.
Because the auto supply chain is integrated, Canadian plants could soon be unable to continue working because of a shortage of parts. GM Canada did not say how soon Canadian plants might be affected.
It would be about two months before auto dealerships are affected by a shortage of product, according to the parent company.
Different union, different contract schedule
Canadian workers are represented by a different union, Unifor, and its contract schedule is different from the U.S. Contracts do not expire until September 2020 and September 2021.
But Unifor issued a statement on Sunday saying it “supports the UAW in negotiations for a fair contract settlement with General Motors.”
“The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future,” the statement continued.
GM’s Oshawa assembly plant is set to close at the end of the year, one of five plants in North America that the auto giant is closing.
That is one of the key issues for the UAW in the U.S., which is pressing GM to schedule new models for the four U.S. plants it is closing.
Unifor has pressed GM Canada unsuccessfully to extend the life of the Oshawa plant, arguing the automaker made a commitment to at least 2020 when it accepted the 2008 government bailout.
GM is negotiating a shift toward more electric cars and investing heavily in automation, considered among the key trends in the auto industry.
North American car sales have boomed in the past three years, but are stagnating this year as young consumers put off owning vehicles.
But GM made $10.8 billion in pretax profit in 2018 and the UAW is arguing it deserves a wage hike and better benefits to share in the good fortune.