Shutdown now expected in mid-May
Nov 21, 2008 - 08:02 PM
By Ian Caldwell
OSHAWA -- CAW local 222 President Chris Buckley says the federal government has to act now to save jobs amidst the economic crisis that has brought General Motors to its knees.
"It just keeps getting worse every day," Mr. Buckley said Friday night, after the union representing GM workers in Oshawa told its members earlier in the day the truck plant is now tentatively scheduled to close May 14.
That's two months earlier than the time frame expected when the company first announced it planned to shut down the plant, in June.
"This is tentative, this is all market driven," Mr. Buckley said, underscoring concerns that the economic crisis will take a greater toll on good manufacturing jobs and pointing out it's not just automotive jobs that are at stake.
"Our Canadian government needs to act now," he said.
Mr. Buckley pointed out there are 400,000 jobs directly or indirectly related to the auto industry in Canada and he said the federal government cannot wait to step in.
"We're asking for guaranteed loans", he said, not a 'bailout'.
The company also told the union on Friday that an extra week will be added-on to a scheduled shutdown in January. However, the union does expect an additional seven weeks of work between January and May, bringing the total to 13 before the plant finally closes.
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