OSHAWA -- Mike Gimblett had his hands full as he made his way home after completing his final shift at the General Motors' truck plant.
He cleaned out the locker he's had for the past 26 years as a tradesman at the factory.
"A lot of memories and a lot of good times, I'm pretty sad it's over," said Mr. Gimblett, with a blue garbage bag slung over his left shoulder. "I'm a tradesman, so I've taken all of my tools and so now it's just cleaning out coveralls and all of the personal stuff you've accumulated over the years."
The 50 year old was accepted for the grow into retirement program offered by the automaker, but he said retiring this early wasn't the plan.
"I was thinking another two to four years, but the alternative just didn't look that good."
Mr. Gimblett wasn't the only employee having a hard time saying a final farewell.
For Peter Kubovic, it was a day he thought would never come.
"I never thought this would close," he said. "It's a total shock. Management is making a big mistake. Everybody knows about our quality awards and they would rather give the product to Mexico."
Dave Mclinton shot some home video as he made his way out of the gate.
"It's just for me," he said of the video. "It's memories. It's 33 years and it's been a second home for me."
Mr. Mclinton, 54, described the atmosphere inside the plant as one big family.
"I don't know what it's like in the car plant but it's so positive here," the hourly worker said.
"That's why we acquired all the accolades that we did, because of the team work and the people involved."
Mr. Mclinton isn't finished working at the plant. He is apart of a team of workers who will be decommissioning the factory's robots.
"I'll likely be done in mid June but decommissioning won't probably be done until August or early September," he said.
On June 3, 2008, GM announced its plans to close the Oshawa plant.
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