Announcement expected Friday
Apr 22, 2009 - 08:07 PM
DETROIT -- The Detroit News reported Wednesday night that General Motors is expected announce a tougher round of restructuring measures that will include the closure of factories for up to nine weeks during the summer months.
A GM vice-president for North American vehicle sales would not confirm the report, according to the Detroit News website. However, the newspaper said an announcement that GM will cut 170,000 vehicles from its planned production is expected Friday.
The potential impact on Canadian operations was not spelled out.
Chris Buckley, the president of CAW Local 222 in Oshawa, said GM plants in St. Catharines and Windsor would likely be affected because they supply engines and transmissions to U.S. plants.
There's no indication whether comparable production cuts would be made in Oshawa.
"Anything is possible," Mr. Buckley said, given the current economic climate.
He said he did contact the company and GM was not able to confirm any details.
"This is without a doubt the worst time in the history of our auto industry," Mr. Buckley told newsdurhamregion.com.
The report of looming production cuts came on the eve of a major protest by the Canadian Autoworkers Union.
Assembly line workers and retirees will be boarding buses in Oshawa Thursday morning to head to Queen's Park as autoworkers gather en masse in a bid to convince the government to guarantee pensions if General Motors falters.
Watch newsdurhamregion.com and northumberlandnews.com for protest coverage.
Canadian GM sales were down 17.3 per cent in March compared to the same month last year, and U.S. sales were down 44.7 per cent compared to March 2008.
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