Wednesday, February 4, 2009

GM pullout -- more falling sky?

At some point one might wonder, is the endless support of the automakers worthwhile? Sometimes it's better not to send good money after bad... .


CAW worried about GM pullout from Canada

Top General Motors Corp. executives in Detroit are mulling the company's fate, and the Canadian Auto Workers are worried that GM's future might not include Canada.

CAW worried about GM pullout from Canada

"If we choose not to be part of the solution, there's a very real possibility that GM could take our vehicles out of Canada and move them to the United States or another country," Chris Buckley, president of Local 222 in Oshawa, told CTV Toronto on Tuesday.

He pleaded for GM to speak with him about ways to keep the Canadian plants open.

A full GM pullout would result in 12,000 high-paying jobs disappearing. However, up to 80,000 jobs could disappear when one counts how many jobs are supported by auto assembly plants.
"They are very concerned that one of the Big Three will no longer be in Ontario," NDP Leader Howard Hampton said, referring to Ford and Chrysler as well.

Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty said there is a strong business case for GM to remain in this country, not least of which is the billions in financial assistance being offered by the provincial and federal governments.

"If you consider the productivity of their plants in Ontario and the quality awards that we have won and the recent investments that they have made, I think it's in the long-term interests of GM to continue to avail themselves of our labour force and our government's commitment to the future of this industry here," he said.

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