OSHAWA — Monday, the rumours became fact at the official announcement that General Motors is closing five plants in 2019 as part of plans to cut $4.5 billion in costs and lower capital expenditures by $1.5 billion by 2020, the automaker said Monday. The closures will affect assembly-line workers at its Oshawa plant, along with those in Detroit, Warren Ohio, propulsion plants in White Marsh, Maryland, and Warren Michigan. Two international plants are also closing. Even the suits were not exempt from the radical cost cut, which was also reduced by 15%.
The sudden move has hit thousands of GM workers on both sides of the boarder.
The closing of five plants before the end of 2019, is part of plans to cut $4.5 billion in costs and lower capital expenditures by $1.5 billion by 2020, the automaker said Monday.
An anticipated drop in car sales, raw material pricing, potential tariffs on auto imports and an expected economic downturn, forced the mass layoffs just before Christmas.