GM Canada says it wants to keep Canadian vehicle production, but during a recent interview, CEO Dan Akerson said that it must make economic sense to do so. He also said that currently, Canada ranks as the most expensive place in the world for vehicle manufacturing.
This follows an announcement by GM that it plans to shut down at least one production line at the Oshawa, Ontario facility, which will happen by spring next year. Originally the line in question was slated for closure in 2008 but production was extended due to the hot demand for Chevy’s Equinox SUV, which is built in Oshawa.
GM is planning to transfer production of the Equinox from Oshawa to the old Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, essentially rendering the former assembly line redundant. A major motivating factor in the shift of production, concerns hourly wages; at Spring Hill they will run an average of $14 per hour, in Oshawa, by contrast, wages are close to $32 per hour.
Although more plant closures in Canada could follow if the Canadian Auto Workers union takes a hard line, Akerson did reiterate that GM is open to negotiation. “Everything is in the mix,” he said. “[Canadian plants] are an important part of our manufacturing footprint in North America, in the globe and we’d like to keep it that way.”
