GM Lays Off 500 Workers at Oshawa Assembly Plant

Around 500 workers clocked in for the last time today at General Motors’ Oshawa Assembly plant as the company terminates the factory's third shift. The move is expected to affect as many as 1,200 workers in all, when workers farther down the auto supply chain are factored into the tally.

The move has been expected since May 2025, when the automaker first announced that it would move to two shifts, at the plant. However, Unifor, the union representing Canadian auto workers, managed to delay the end of the third shift from November to now in an effort to play for time, as Canada and the United States work out their new trade reality.

Although GM did not mention tariffs in a statement about the end of the third shift in Oshawa today, Unifor sees trade relations as being a central factor behind the automaker’s decision to lay off workers in Canada.

Indeed, the decision to cut a shift in Oshawa, which assembles light and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pickups, came shortly after the automaker announced that it would increase production of the same trucks at its Fort Wayne, Indiana, plant in the U.S. That decision followed the announcement of the White House’s 25 per cent tariff on goods entering the U.S. from Canada.

“General Motors has made a clear decision to cave to Donald Trump rather than stand up for its loyal Canadian workforce,” said Lana Payne, Unifor’s national president, in a statement. “Even in a brutal trade war auto companies can make different decisions.”

Seniority rules will apply to the workers at the plant, Jeff Gray, the president of Unifor Local 222, which represents the plant, told the CBC. As a result, workers with more experience will retain their positions, and will be reassigned to one of the two remaining shifts, while newer employees will be laid off.

For its part, GM said it worked with employees to provide separation packages, retirement support, and other benefits, including resume-writing workshops, interview prep, and mental health services.

The automaker added that it plans to spend $280 million in Oshawa to prepare the plant to build the next-generation of full-size, gas-powered pickup trucks. GM also said it is looking at new products for its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, after it was left empty with the discontinuation of the BrightDrop electric delivery vehicle.