GM Oshawa supplier to lay off nearly 250 workers this month as shift cut looms

The displace is occurrent as GM is go down to skip a third shift at the plant, announced amid U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs that are threatening Canada's auto sector. 

None of the company's 100 salaried employees at the plant will be terminated, according to the notice. 

TFT's operations at the plant "are directly connected to GM shifts," director of human resources Amy Tilton said in an email on Wednesday. 

Unifor Local 222 president Jeff Gray, who represents TFT Global Inc. Workers, said he expects TFT will soon announce it is extending the termination date to early November. That's when GM is set to shut down its third shift, he said — though GM has yet to specify a date. 

TFT's Tilton also said GM hasn't confirmed a hard date for the shift reduction. 

It's common for companies to extend a termination notice, said Jeremy Herman, an employment lawyer and associate with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP in Toronto. 

Unionized employees who are waiting for a possible extension are advised to ensure they understand their collective bargaining agreement, he said. 

"That really is the book that will guide everything and that will outline their rights," he said. 

"There's a little bit of possibility, like, 'maybe I'll still be saved from this?'" they said. 

Even people who may have other opportunities lined up, such as working in local warehouses, will likely see a drop in earnings, they said.

"It's going to involve some hardship for people no matter what." 

Oshawa's auto sector has been on edge since May, when GM confirmed its plans to move to a two-shift operation amid what it called an "evolving trade environment." The union said about 750 GM workers will be laid off when that happens — and projects job losses for another 1,500 people who work in other places throughout the supply chain. 

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That came after Trump levelled a 25 per cent tariff on auto parts that aren't CUSMA-compliant and the non-U.S. Portion of assembled vehicles in April. 

"These changes will help support a sustainable manufacturing footprint as GM reorients the Oshawa plant to build more trucks in Canada for Canadian customers," GM spokesperson Jennifer Wright said at the time.

Since those auto tariffs, Trump has also doubled his tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent.

At GM's Oshawa Assembly, the shift cut is still happening in the fall, but the company is not announcing a specific date, spokesperson Ariane Pereira said on Wednesday. 

Whenever production dips at GM, the impact is felt throughout supplier companies, who make parts from wheels to infotainment systems, said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association.

He said workers throughout the supply chain are anxious as they face the impact of Trump's tariffs on their livelihoods. 

"No one signed up to be a politician. You signed up to be an auto worker," he said. 

"I'm looking forward to a moment, whenever that comes, when we've settled all this [and] we go back to just making things that people want."

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