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Next year, thousands of General Motors Ontario workers will face the harsh reality that their time at the Oshawa badembly plant is coming to an end. The auto giant confirmed yesterday that the plant is one of six plants that will close in North America.
GM said all of this was part of a global plan to reduce costs and devote more resources to the development of electric and autonomous vehicles. But the news that the Oshawa plant will be closed leaves many people wondering why this century-old facility has been left out.
Susan Ormiston, Senior Correspondent, interviewed David Paterson, GM's Vice President of Environmental and Environmental Affairs, and more.
GM's Paterson explains why the plant in Oshawa, Ontario, can not build the vehicles of the future. (CBC News)
Susan Ormiston: Does this factory disappear because of the US president's goal of making America a top spot and making it big again and producing in America?
David Paterson: It has absolutely nothing to do with the president. This decision is simply about being able to move in the future and reallocating capital to the mbadive investments needed for electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles.
The good news is that with respect to this technology, the only place in the world where we are able to develop software and work in the high tech field we need for the future will be actually found in Canada. We have just opened the Markham Technology Center.
We currently recruit up to 1,000 technical engineers. We hired 500 last year and we are going to expand Markham's technology center, which will build the cars of the future and the technology of the future.
GM says the closure of Oshawa has nothing to do with Trump's "America First" policy. (Eduardo Lima / Canadian Press)
NA: Given the Canadian investment in GM over the years, why are electric technologies and [autonomous] the vehicles must be made here rather than elsewhere … why can not they create the "future" here in Oshawa?
DP: We can do anything here in Oshawa. We could manufacture any type of vehicle …
SO: So why is GM not investing in that?
DP: Because there are very few vehicles available globally for GM's production footprint. We have 75 plants around the world, but we have too many to meet market demand.
If there is an increase in the demand for electric vehicles, it may be necessary to increase production. But you do not produce anything except if there is a market demand for the products.
Watch Susan Ormiston comment on David Paterson, General Manager, on the future of the Oshawa plant:
SO: What are GM's plans to settle with workers here who are still 18 to 24 months under contract?
DP: Our next steps to dealing with our workers is to sit down and discuss how we will make this transition next year.
SO: What can you offer them?
David Paterson, GM's vice president of environmental and environmental affairs, said all workers will not be moved to other Ontario plants. (Sylvia Thomson / CBC News)
DP: Well, about half of the workers affected at GM Oshawa are already entitled to a full GM pension. Thus, they will be able to retire with a little better than a full board.
The other half is already covered under our agreement with Unifor. For example, they would be entitled to additional income at 65% of base salary and anything we could negotiate with Unifor to determine when they would leave, under which benefits and under what conditions. So we treat our people very well.
SO: How many existing workers can find work at GM elsewhere?
DP: We expect that about half of them will retire because they are eligible. And then we'll look at others who might find work at Ingersoll. [plant] … or how many would be able to find work in our other St. Catharines plant. We must follow this process. But they can not all be moved to other factories.
Susan Ormiston asks David Paterson when there will be jobs for everyone at other Ontario plants:
This interview was condensed for length and clarity.
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