One of the area’s biggest manufacturers is laying off workers for extended periods and cutting back to one shift in the fall, impacting employees and their families.
Unifor Local 88 CAMI Plant Chairperson Mike Van Boekel told MyStratfordNow the halt and reduction in assembly will significantly change lives.
CAMI, located in Ingersoll, is on a three-week shutdown.
Employees return for two weeks in May and then are off for 21 weeks.
They will operate one shift when employees return in October.
“So we had about 1,100 production workers, we are going to go down to 460,” said Van Boekel. “So it’s going to be quite a dramatic drop.”
The facility has employed many Stratford and Perth County residents over the years, providing good wages and benefits.
The Retooled plant assembles the BrightDrop electric delivery van, after production of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain moved to Mexico.
Employees with as many as two decades of experience are losing their careers.
Van Boekel described it as a gut punch. The news was hard to take.
“Especially the younger families, who have both the husband and wife working in there with little kids at home.”
Production of the electric delivery van started in early 2023.
WalMart, Purolator, and Kroger are big customers.
Canada’s first full-scale electric-vehicle manufacturing plant was starting to see some good sales, Van Boekel said.
U.S. tariffs didn’t help but are not the whole reason for the changes, he said.
Union officials are meeting with GM to try and incentivize retirement for some workers.
They have also met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the Liberal and Conservative camps, spreading a ‘Canada first’ message for electric vehicle needs.
“This is a crushing blow to hundreds of working families in Ingersoll and the surrounding region who depend on this plant,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a media release.
“General Motors must do everything in its power to mitigate job loss during this downturn, and all levels of government must step up to support Canadian auto workers and Canadian-made products.”
Van Boekel said they hold out hope that some may return to work.
