General Motors announced on Monday that it will be closing its Windsor, Ontario transmission plant in the second quarter of 2010. The announcement comes just four months before the CAW’s national contract with GM expires, making negotiations all that much more difficult.
GM says the reason for the closure of the plant is because there are no future products planned for that facility. “There is no product available for the plant, and that’s why the decision was made,” GM Canada spokesman Stew Low told Automotive News. “When that was apparent to the union, it was decided to make the announcement to employees as soon as possible.”
Despite the explanation, the CAW is not happy with the announcement. “I’m frustrated and angry, and I can’t believe we have got ourselves in this position,” CAW president Buzz Hargrove said.
Since the announcement, the CAW has set a 6 pm Wednesday deadline for GM to make progress on “master issues” or contract negotiations could be suspended until September.
The Windsor plant — which employs 1,400 workers — produces four-speed transmissions for the Pontiac G5 and G6, the Chevrolet Cobalt, Malibu and HHR, and the Saturn Aura and Vue at the rate of about 3,300 units per day. However, GM will be switching to more efficient six-speed transmissions in the coming years, rendering the Ontario facility obsolete.
