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February 6, 2019
TORONTO- General Motors (GM) has announced that it earned a whopping US $8.1 billion profit in 2018, this as the company plans to sacrifice tens of thousands of Canadian jobs with the closure of the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
“General Motors is raking in money. Executives and shareholders continue to do incredibly well while they callously plan to take away the very livelihood of Canadian workers in Oshawa,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
The numbers show that the U.S. and Canadian markets generate almost all of GM’s global profits but the automaker continues to slash American and Canadian jobs while expanding production in Mexico.
“It would be sheer arrogance to think that Canadian consumers will continue to support GM while it deliberately inflicts harm on our economy,” said Dias. “GM is risking the very core of their future financial success with their relentless pursuit of production at $2 per hour in Mexico.”
A recent economic impact study shows that the closure of GM Oshawa would result in 24,000 lost jobs and a loss of $1 billion per year in government revenue.
In violation of a signed collective agreement, General Motors plans to shutter its Oshawa Assembly Plant at the end of 2019 even though it is widely recognized as one of the most flexible and productive GM facilities.
“This is GM’s third highest profit level ever,” said Dias. “The company has plenty of options available to do the right thing in Oshawa, instead of shifting even more jobs to Mexico.”
Canadians are encouraged to take an online pledge to boycott GM vehicles made in Mexico if the company fails to maintain production in Oshawa and other Canadian facilities. In order to keep good paying auto jobs in Canada consumers are asked to purchase Canadian and U.S. union-made vehicles.
For more information visit SaveOshawaGM.ca.
For more information, please contact Unifor Communications Representative Kathleen O’Keefe at @email or 416-896-3303 (cell).
