GM to respond by January 7 to Canada union efforts to save plant

General Motors will reply by January 7 to a Canadian union’s proposals for keeping an Ontario auto assembly plant open, the head of Canada’s largest private sector union stated on Thursday.

Unifor head Jerry Dias informed reporters following meeting with GM executives in Detroit that the automaker did not “unilaterally slam the door” on efforts of the union.

The Oshawa plant is set to shut down in December next year but Dias stated the “solutions are plentiful” to save it, without thinking about specifics. The closure is part of a broader restructuring by GM announced in November that will shut down five North American plants and remove 15,000 jobs.

“Our argument to GM today is that they truly have gone too far,” stated Dias, who represents most unionized auto employees in Canada.

The Oshawa plant closure, which impacts 2,973 assembly line workers, would end more than century of vehicle production located in the city east of Toronto.

David Paterson, a spokesman for the automaker in Canada, described the meeting as “constructive” and stated the automaker would get back to the union by January 7 or before.