Although Canada has been the recipient of some bad news lately when it comes to the auto industry, our neighbors to the north have had a little bit of goodwill sent their way over the past couple of weeks. Ontario guaranteed Ford $75 million to keep 750 jobs and Windsor, and it looks as if a few General Motors employees will be safe, too.
GM may be shuttering the doors of its Oshawa truck plant, but the General has committed at least $285 million to its operations in Ontario. $245 million of that will be going to the company’s St. Catharines plant – which produces six-speed transmissions for front-wheel drive applications – securing at least 300 new jobs.
The other $40 million will be invested in General Motors’ Canadian engineering center, according to Trading Markets, which will help the development of green tech. In addition to the $40 million investment, GM has also guaranteed its Oshawa car plant the production of a mid-size hybrid vehicle, although it remains unclear which model is earmarked for production at Oshawa or when production will begin.
Although GM won’t be receiving any direct funds from the Canadian government like Ford , in return for its investments, the government won’t be forcing GM to pay early repayment of a $200 million loan from 2005. That loan was subject to early repayment as a result of a minimum employment requirement which GM could not fulfill with the closure of its Oshawa truck plant.
