GM halts production, lays off hundreds at Ingersoll, Ont., assembly plant, to reopen in October

Alessio Donnini · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 1:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The General Motors CAMI Assembly works successful Ingersoll, Ont., volition unopen down adjacent period with plans to reopen successful the autumn astatine fractional capacity.

The institution said successful a connection Friday that accumulation is coming to halt arsenic a nonstop effect of the market and available inventory to physique the BrightDrop electrical transportation vehicles manufactured astatine the plant.

"CAMI is making operational and employment adjustments to balance inventory and align production schedules with current demand," GM said successful a statement. 

"GM remains committed to the aboriginal of BrightDrop and the CAMI works and will support employees done the transition."

Two models of the BrightDrop Zevo are made connected site and income person lagged down the competition, with numbers released by GM showing a full of 427 vehicles sold successful Canada successful 2024 and 1,529 successful the United States.

"It's heartbreaking, surely for the individuals who are affected by it successful our community," said Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie.

"We privation to instrumentality attraction of people, that's what it's truly about. Everybody has families and I cognize that determination is an enactment centre being acceptable up astatine Unifor to assistance people, and we'll beryllium surely doing everything we tin done the municipality to enactment with our partners to enactment people."

The quality follows the impermanent closure of Stellantis's Windsor Assembly Plant successful Windsor, Ont., that was announced successful aboriginal April, pursuing the imposition of U.S. car tariffs.

The CAMI works employs astir 1,200 workers. Unifor said layoffs volition commencement Monday, with immoderate accumulation continuing into May. 

After that, accumulation volition halt until October, the national said successful a statement. 

"When accumulation resumes successful October, the works volition run connected a azygous displacement for the foreseeable aboriginal — a simplification that is expected to effect successful the indefinite layoff of astir 500 workers," the connection read.

"Our members person endured truthful overmuch — from retooling disruptions to months of rotating layoffs — and present they're facing a large accumulation slowdown and occupation loss," said Unifor Local 88 CAMI plant seat Mike Van Boekel.

"Global request for last-mile transportation vehicles is lone growing. Our members person the skill, the experience and the pridefulness to physique world-class electrical vehicles close present successful Canada — each we request is the accidental to support doing it."

Politicians respond to the news

Following confirmation of the layoffs and shutdown, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was the archetypal person to respond to the news, issuing a connection connected societal media.

"I americium incredibly saddened by the layoffs astatine the GM CAMI Assembly works successful Ingersoll," Poilievre wrote. "This morning, I spoke with Unifor Local 88 GM Plant Chairperson Mike Van Boekel and expressed my committedness to support Canadian car workers."

Poilievre's statement took purpose astatine U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he "is betraying America's closest person and attacking our economy."

Conservative campaigner Arpan Khanna, who is moving for re-election successful the riding of Oxford, which includes Ingersoll, issued a connection arsenic well, minutes aft the quality broke.

"This concern goes beyond conscionable a header — it's a large nonaccomplishment for our community. It's 500 of our families, friends and neighbours," Khanna said.

Petrie remains hopeful that accumulation volition instrumentality to the works successful the future.

"We person the champion workforce successful the world. I cognize that's going to beryllium palmy successful the agelong term. You can't determination that, you can't instrumentality it anyplace else. It's present and it's been made a palmy for implicit 100 years and volition proceed to bash so."