Unifor, GM to discuss fate of Oshawa plant during face-to-face meeting in Detroit

Unifor national president Jerry Dias and representatives from General Motors are scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the automaker’s decision to shut down its Oshawa assembly plant.

The meeting is taking place at the company’s Detroit headquarters, though it is not yet clear who will be representing GM during the face-to-face encounter.

Dias is expected to hold a news conference in Windsor following the meeting.

GM announced in November that work at the plant would end by December 2019, a decision that Unifor has forcefully challenged. The union has criticized GM for moving jobs to Mexico and it released a scathing attack ad ahead of the meeting.

Unifor is now expecting GM to say whether or not it will consider keeping the facility open.

However, since the announcement was made, the automaker has not signaled any intention to reverse its decision, which is part of a larger restructuring. The company says it will close five plants, four of which are in the United States.

Around 2,500 people are employed at the Oshawa plant, which first opened in 1918.