General Motors Canada will announce on Monday that itB次元官网网址檚 closing its plant in Oshawa, Ont., in a move that will affect thousands of jobs in the city east of Toronto, The Canadian Press has learned.

The closure of the Oshawa Assembly Plant is part of a shift in the companyB次元官网网址檚 global production and has nothing to do with the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a source familiar with the situation said Sunday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the shift also affects GM operations in other countries, and the Oshawa facility is the only Canadian plant that will be shuttered. GM also operates manufacturing facilities in St. Catharines, Ont., and Ingersoll, Ont.

Unifor, the union representing more than 2,500 workers at the Oshawa plant, said in a statement that it does not have complete details of MondayB次元官网网址檚 announcement, but it has been informed that there is no product allocated to the Oshawa plant past December 2019.

B次元官网网址淏ased on commitments made during 2016 contract negotiations, Unifor does not accept this announcement and is immediately calling on GM to live up to the spirit of that agreement,B次元官网网址� the union said in a statement on its website.

B次元官网网址淯nifor is scheduled to hold a discussion with General Motors (Monday) and will provide further comment following the meeting.B次元官网网址�

A spokeswoman for GM Canada said Sunday that the company had B次元官网网址渘o news or comment tonightB次元官网网址� and would not be commenting on speculation.

Oshawa Mayor John Henry said he had not spoken to anyone from GM. He said he heard about the reported closure from CTV B次元官网网址, which first reported the story, when a reporter called him for comment earlier in the day.

He said in a phone interview that the plant closure would have ripple effects well beyond the city of roughly 170,000.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to affect the province, itB次元官网网址檚 going to affect the region B次元官网网址� The auto industryB次元官网网址檚 been a big part of the province of Ontario for over 100 years.

B次元官网网址淭his country has also invested a lot in General Motors,B次元官网网址� he added, referring to the 2009 bailout that saw the federal and provincial governments invest billions in GM and Chrysler to keep the companies afloat.

Federal and provincial politicians also weighed in on the reported closure, expressing concern for the thousands of high-paying jobs at the Oshawa plant B次元官网网址� as well as the potential trickle-down effect a closure could have.

Jennifer French, who represents Oshawa in the provincial legislature, said she finds the news B次元官网网址済ravely concerning.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚f GM Canada is indeed turning its back on 100 years of industry and community B次元官网网址� abandoning workers and families in Oshawa B次元官网网址� then this is a callous decision that must be fought,B次元官网网址� she said in a statement.

B次元官网网址淕M didnB次元官网网址檛 build #Oshawa. Oshawa built GM,B次元官网网址� French added in a tweet.

Conservative MP Colin Carrie, who according to his website spent his summers as a youth working in the Oshawa plant, called the reports B次元官网网址渧ery concerningB次元官网网址� and promised to B次元官网网址渓ook further into the situation.B次元官网网址�

According to GMB次元官网网址檚 website, the Oshawa Assembly Plant employs 2,522 workers with Unifor Local 222. Production began on Nov. 7, 1953, and in the 1980s the plant employed roughly 23,000 people.

Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in April that the Oshawa complex was headed for closure in June of this year. But he noted the former head of GM Canada, Steve Carlisle, was determined it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 close on his watch.

Carlisle was moved that month to head Cadillac, the global automakerB次元官网网址檚 luxury car division, as part of a management rotation.

At the time of the transfer, Dias said CarlisleB次元官网网址檚 appointment to lead Cadillac would raise his profile and influence within GMB次元官网网址檚 headquarters in Detroit, and that B次元官网网址渨ould be a huge benefit for us.B次元官网网址�

The Oshawa operation became a Donald Trump talking point during Canada-U.S. trade negotiations, according to a Toronto Star report about an off-the-record aside during an interview with Bloomberg B次元官网网址 over the summer.

B次元官网网址淓very time we have a problem with a point, I just put up a picture of a Chevrolet Impala,B次元官网网址� the U.S. president was reported to have said. The Impala is built at the GM plant in Oshawa.

The Canadian Press

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