General Motors (GM) has confirmed it will cease production of its BrightDrop electric vans at the Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc. assembly plant. (CAMI) in Ingersoll, Ontario.
Production at the plant was suspended back in May.when the auto giant said demand for commercial electric vehicles was low. According to Pulp and paper mill, GM said today that BrightDrop vehicles will not be produced anywhere else.
GM said hourly employees will receive six months of pay, plus possible one-time payments and other benefits, consistent with the collective bargaining agreement with Unifor. The company intends to work with Unifor and both levels of government to assess the future of the CAMI plant, which is currently under threat.
How CBC noted that the launch of BrightDrop in 2021 was billed as a “significant step” in General Motors' pursuit of an all-electric future. However, the company added that the commercial electric vehicle sector is growing much more slowly than expected, due to weak demand, regulatory changes and the loss of the US tax credit for electric vehicle delivery.
It should be noted that CAMI's Ingersoll plant has been operating below capacity since production began in 2022 following a C$1 billion retooling investment supported by both the federal and provincial governments.
Despite General Motors' commitment to the Canadian auto industry through its auto assembly plants in Oshawa and St. Catharines and its C$600 million battery materials plant in Becancourt, Quebec, this is another huge loss.
Even the previously mentioned Oshawa plant had some problems, with significant layoffs forcing the layoff of an entire shift. It also comes a week after Stellantis moved production of the Jeep Compass from its Brampton assembly plant to its Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois, which caused a backlash from both the federal government and Unifor.
Source: CBC
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