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Chevrolet Plants Closing? Where will the Camaro be born?

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Old Jun 3, 2008 | 12:26 PM
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Chevrolet Plants Closing? Where will the Camaro be born?

I saw in the news today that the Oshawa Plant in Canada is closing, what does that mean for the Camaro. Are they just closing the Pick-up/SUV sections of those plants or are they completely shutting them down. If so where will the car be built and what is gonna happen to the Autoworkers.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 12:55 PM
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Which Oshawa plant? There's more than one there.

edit: found a link, it's the truck plant, not the car plant, Camaro is safe

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...1_FORTUNE5.htm

Last edited by Rob V; Jun 3, 2008 at 01:21 PM.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 02:08 PM
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With regard to the plant closing in Oshawa.

"We are not going to allow this to happen," Hargrove said Tuesday, adding that he is reviewing all options including a strike. "There is no justification for this to happen and we aren't going to take this laying down."

Does this mean a strike could shut down the Camaro plant? I bet it would.

Last edited by embpic; Jun 3, 2008 at 02:13 PM.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 02:28 PM
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Yup, I got an e-mail from my g/f ... her Dad works (worked? ) at the Oshawa truck plant. Apparently 4 truck plants were on the chopping block, Oshawa being 1 of them. I guess the only options are: attempt to get a transfer into the car plant, take a package, or retire?!

I can't imagine they'd de-rail the Camaro in the Oshawa car plant at this point in the game? ..... but then again, nobody saw this truck plant closure coming either .

Bummer either way .
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 02:51 PM
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Camaro is safe. This is a shift away from truck/suv production due to significantly diminished demand.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...ESS01/80603053
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by klrbmike
I saw in the news today that the Oshawa Plant in Canada is closing, what does that mean for the Camaro. Are they just closing the Pick-up/SUV sections of those plants or are they completely shutting them down. If so where will the car be built and what is gonna happen to the Autoworkers.
The Oshawa car plant is NOT included in the list of closings, and is safe pretty much for the entire run of the 5th gen Camaro which should be about 4-5 years. There is also additional product that is to be made there within the next couple of years.

The Oshawa car plant also makes the Impala. At over quarter million per year made and sold, and an exclusive right to make the car, you know that plant isn't going to be closing anytime soon.

Keep in mind that at the moment, Canada is the most expensive place in the world to make an automobile. The Canadian dollar is 1 to 1 with the US dollar, and just about all advantages of producing a car in Canada over the US (lower wages, healthcare covered by the government, etc...) has all but disappeared due to the US dollar tanking.

Truck sales are down more or less permanently, and buyers infatuation with big SUVs is apparently over. Given a choice between closing one of 2 plants capable of making the same truck, one in the US and one in Ontario, Ontario had the bigger reason to close.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 04:25 PM
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it only makes sense that the truck plants will start to close, Who can afford to gas up the trucks righ tnow, I know It cost us $77 to fill up 19 gallons on my truck the other day & that was with gas prices at $4.14 a gallon.

The truck/SUV productions will slow down & the car small compact will pick up.


Stop thinking everytime something happens in GM that they are going to screw with the Camaro project.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 04:35 PM
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Originally Posted by guionM
Keep in mind that at the moment, Canada is the most expensive place in the world to make an automobile. The Canadian dollar is 1 to 1 with the US dollar, and just about all advantages of producing a car in Canada over the US (lower wages, healthcare covered by the government, etc...) has all but disappeared due to the US dollar tanking.
Sucks for anyone who has made a living in the automotive manufacturing business in Canada . Gone are the days when getting a job with GM was considered a GOOD thing! It's really too bad. It's also going to put a real bad hurt on the City of Oshawa, the surrounding area, feeder companies (ie: Lear seating) and probably bankrupt a few people in the process. The real estate market is going to take a kick in the nads (although for anyone NOT affected by the GM situation, there will probably be some pretty good deals to be found ).

Don't know when/where/how this hole got dug, but it's pretty deep, and I don't see things turning around anytime soon.

Well, hopefully the Camaro can be a big success, sell lots of units, and hopefully the Impala continues to do well until they decide what to do in terms of replacing/re-modelling it ..... hopefully it can remain in Oshawa in the future?

I'm also curious if/what else may fill the remaining capacity of the car plant. I'm sure there's still more capacity than just the ~250k Impalas and ~100k Camaros?
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 04:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Capn Pete
The real estate market is going to take a kick in the nads (although for anyone NOT affected by the GM situation, there will probably be some pretty good deals to be found ).
hey don't you roll your eyes at me! i'll be looking soon and i want a cheap house.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by ChrisL
Camaro is safe. This is a shift away from truck/suv production due to significantly diminished demand.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...ESS01/80603053

I think your missing my point. If they strike to protest the closing of the truck plant then I think the Camaro may become a bargaining chip for the workers in Oshawa.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by embpic
I think your missing my point. If they strike to protest the closing of the truck plant then I think the Camaro may become a bargaining chip for the workers in Oshawa.
This is one fight the CAW is going to lose on, if they win and GM doesn't close the plants then they will be building vehicles that don't sell and GM will lose the NA market and they lose their jobs. If they strike the only profitable stuff GM does make (impala, camaro, etc..) then GM will lose NA sales market and they all lose their jobs anyway.

GM may take a financial hit for it, but its going to happen regardless of what the CAW thinks.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 07:24 PM
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Originally Posted by diarmadhi
This is one fight the CAW is going to lose on, if they win and GM doesn't close the plants then they will be building vehicles that don't sell and GM will lose the NA market and they lose their jobs. If they strike the only profitable stuff GM does make (impala, camaro, etc..) then GM will lose NA sales market and they all lose their jobs anyway.

GM may take a financial hit for it, but its going to happen regardless of what the CAW thinks.
I am sure the CAW guys don't care what they build, as long as they are building something. With these closings, I bet working at the camaro plant is the place they want to be right now. It sounds like there are too few assembly jobs to go around with the truck plant closing. I am not worried about the camaro being built. I am worried about a delay in manufacturing. We are getting close to production time and this is exactly what GM doesn't need so close to a launch of a new car. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we still get the car in Feb.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by embpic
I think your missing my point. If they strike to protest the closing of the truck plant then I think the Camaro may become a bargaining chip for the workers in Oshawa.
Doesn't quite work that way.

If they do strike, it'll probably wind up in the courts. The CAW already signed a contract with GM.

What will happen is much the same as what happened with Ste Therese. GM will work with them to find another use for the plant both within GM and with another potential buyer. If that doesn't happen, then GM will work to place most of the workers, and that will be pretty much the end of it.
Old Jun 3, 2008 | 07:57 PM
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sselie posted this over on chirpthird after seeing the story on local news this evening

Originally Posted by CTV News
Oshawa plant to get new vehicle

On the same day of the plant closure announcement, CTV News has confirmed GM will bring a new fuel-efficient vehicle into production at the Oshawa flex plant.

The car will be front-wheel drive and production will begin in about three years, at about the same time the plant will stop producing the Chevrolet Impala, CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss reported.

GM Canada vice-president David Paterson confirmed to CTV News the new product is coming to the flex plant.

Without the replacement product, some 1,200 jobs could have been lost, Bliss said.

Meanwhile, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday the government will try to recoup part of a $175-million loan to General Motors earlier than planned in the wake of the automaker's decision to close plants.

McGuinty said the loss of jobs likely means GM will be in violation of one of the conditions of the loan guarantee.

"Our sense is at this point that they will be, and if so, there are specific provisions under the contract that we will seek to enforce,'' he said.

The province invested $235 million with GM's Beacon project in 2005, $60 million of which went to universities for research and development and the balance to GM for its Oshawa operation.

The agreement included minimum job levels at the truck plant, the premier said.

The government won't be able to determine exactly how much it will expect GM to pay back until 2013, when the long-term contract is completed, officials said.

GM, however, argued it is not in violation of the agreement.

"This announcement alone does not tip us over or violate the covenant,'' said GM vice-president Troy Clarke. "Whatever the fact of the matter is, we will live up to our obligations under the Beacon agreement.''
Old Jun 5, 2008 | 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by guionM
Doesn't quite work that way.

If they do strike, it'll probably wind up in the courts. The CAW already signed a contract with GM.

What will happen is much the same as what happened with Ste Therese. GM will work with them to find another use for the plant both within GM and with another potential buyer. If that doesn't happen, then GM will work to place most of the workers, and that will be pretty much the end of it.
It actually can happen that way. A number of things could potentially happen. 1st it could get resolved later today at the meeting in Detroit. 2nd it doesn't get resolved and the current protest escalates into a wildcat. 3rd and what is a very likely senario is that there is a strike in September. The current collective agreement is in effect until Sept. at which time the newly signed agreement takes over. However, with the Unions positition that the contract was negotiated in bad faith, they may take the position that it is null and void and be in a strike position. Also, there is plenty of time for this to go to an arbitrator for a decision on whether GM's actions constitute bad faith bargaining. In the end, any strike would shut down all of GM Oshawa, truck plant, car plant 2, and the flexplant. Any prolonged shutdown would almost guarantee a delay in the SOP of the Camaro as well as delivery dates.



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