GM says its move to phase out some internal combustion auto assembly plants in North America — including Oshawa — will free up as much as $8 billion to help fund its global shift to electric and autonomous vehicles.On Monday the company announced that vehicle plants in Oshawa and four U.S. centres will be “unallocated” production in 2019, a move that puts more than 2,500 unionized workers in Oshawa on a path to retirement or layoff.GM said in a statement that resources allocated to electric and autonomous vehicle programs will double in the next two years as it prioritizes future vehicle investments in next-generation battery-electric offerings.“That could have enormous potential benefits for Canada,” said David Paterson, corporate and environmental affairs vice-president with GM Canada, noting that the company hired several hundred software engineers over the past year at its Canadian Technical Centre in Markham where it’s developing self-driving technologies.Paterson said it’s too early to tell if the Oshawa plant will be completely mothballed when its current allocation of models runs out next year, or if it could be retooled to produce electric and autonomous models. “That remains to be determined,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we won’t continue to look for opportunities, we will, but there are no assurances of that at all.”Read more:Union vows ‘one hell of a fight’ after GM confirms Oshawa plant will halt production, affecting more than 2,500 jobsOttawa looking at ‘all options’ as GM closes Oshawa plantOpinion | David Olive: It’s time for a truly Canadian automakerHe noted that General Motors is building production versions of its self-driving Cruise AV at facilities near Detroit, which could become something of a template for future plants.Auto sector analysts say that while automakers such as Mercedes, Audi and BMW are introducing electric models ...
|
