Temporary layoffs for 1,200 GM Oshawa workers

Repercussions from the General Motors strike across the border are already being felt here in Canada.

About 1,200 employees at the company’s assembly plant in Oshawa have been temporarily laid off, with more job cuts expected soon.

Unifor president Jerry Dias says he expects the second line at the Oshawa plant to also be disrupted as early as Thursday. That would leave all 2,600 workers at the plant off the job.

Dias also expects layoffs at the engine plane in St. Catharines and the Cami plant in Ingersoll by the middle of next week.

GM workers in the U.S. walked off the job for the first time in over a decade on Monday over issues including wages, health care, and job security.

The employees, who work on the Oshawa truck line, will still receive full wages while the strike by more than 49,000 GM workers in the U.S. continues