Although it doesn’t look like anything will save General Motors’ Oshawa, Ontario truck plant from its highly controversial closure in 2009, the plant might not be completely down and out. GM is reportedly in talks with the Ontario government to reopen the plant as a car factory.
The move might ultimately help quell the CAW’s displeasure with the plant closure, but the shift to car production won’t likely bring an immediate halt to the union’s blockade. Even if GM gives the green light to convert its Oshawa truck plant into a car plant, the Oshawa plant’s doors likely wouldn’t reopen for years.
“We’re trying to nail down timing, because if in fact we have an opportunity for a new car product, there is still going to be a couple of years where we have a gap between the estimated date of closure of the truck plant and a launch of a new vehicle,” Economic Development and Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello told The Detroit News.
While the retooled plant probably won’t reopen until sometime in the next decade, the fact that GM is considering the future of the facility might give the auto giant some leeway with the disgruntled union.
