Ingersoll vehicle assembly plant shutting down with layoffs incoming, says Unifor

A General Motors (GM) vehicle assembly plant in Ingersoll is being temporarily shut down, with hundreds of layoffs expected to follow.

According to Unifor, the union representing around 320,000 workers, GM told them that the Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc. (CAMI) assembly plant will stop and then reduce production of the BrightDrop electric delivery van.

They say that GM will begin temporary layoffs starting Monday, with workers returning in May for limited production.

After that, production on the vehicle will pause operations idling until October.

The union says when production resumes in October, the plant will operate on a single shift “for the foreseeable future” – a reduction that they say is expected to result in the indefinite layoff of nearly 500 workers.

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On a post made on the Unifor website, the union’s national president Lana Payne said, “this is a crushing blow to hundreds of working families in Ingersoll and the surrounding region who depend on this plant.”

“General Motors must do everything in its power to mitigate job loss during this downturn, and all levels of government must step up to support Canadian auto workers and Canadian-made products.”

Unifor Local 88 represents over 1,200 workers at the plant since it began production of BrightDrop in 2023.

The announcement comes after Canada implemented a 25 per cent counter-tariff on cars imported from the U.S. on Wednesday in response to existing U.S. tariffs on the Canadian auto sector.

Earlier this week, GM also laid off 200 employees at its factories in Detroit and Hamtramck, Mich., which the company says was “unrelated” to tariffs.

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