GM to Make Important Announcement Regarding Global Operations Monday: Canadian Union

MONTREAL (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.Nis poised to make a major announcement on Monday that will affect its global operations, including auto production at an Ontario plant, a Canadian union said in a statement released on Sunday.

Unifor, who represents most of the auto workers in Canada, said GM had announced that no proceeds would be awarded to the Oshawa plant after December 2019, a development that would affect the production of the factory.

This statement comes after a local TV channel announced that GM was planning to close all operations at the Oshawa plant near Toronto.

A spokesman for GM declined to comment Sunday night.

GM cut jobs to deal with a drop in car sales in North America. The company has been discussing internally for months the reduction in demand for cars, said a person informed of the problem. This question should be raised again when GM negotiates a contract with the United Auto Workers union next year.

Analysts said GM had too many North American factories building slow-moving sedans. GM President and CEO Mary Barra said in a message to employees last month that the automaker needed to cut costs, citing negative cash flow for the first nine months of the year.

GM offered buyouts to North American employees and announced plans to lay off white-collar employees if it did not meet a cost-cutting goal.

He confirmed that GM had planned a major announcement on the future of the Oshawa plant, but that the builder wanted to inform employees of its plans before confirming any announcement of the closure of the plant.

GM employs approximately 2,500 unionized employees and approximately 300 salaried employees in the Oshawa area. The US manufacturer has other facilities in Canada, including a plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, where it assembles the Chevrolet Equinox.