General Motors will begin laying off hundreds of workers at its CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., starting Monday — a major economic hit to the town of 14,000.
The plant, which employs around 1,200 workers, produces BrightDrop electric delivery vans. GM says a slowdown in sales and high inventory levels have forced the company to pause production. Some limited production will continue into May, but operations are expected to fully stop until October. When production resumes in the fall, the company says it will operate at reduced capacity.
In a statement to media, GM said it remains committed to the CAMI plant and the future of BrightDrop, and will “support employees through the transition.”
The announcement comes amid broader concerns in Canada’s auto sector, as companies brace for the impact of US tariffs and shifting consumer demand.
“Certainly it’s not a good day for the town,” said Brian Petrie, mayor of Ingersoll. “Our thoughts go out to the employees who are affected. General Motors has been a great community partner since 1986, and they want to be here. We have the best workforce in the world.”
Petrie told Canada’s National Observer the layoffs will not only impact workers directly employed by General Motors but will also affect local suppliers, grocery stores, coffee shops, and other businesses. “This will affect our community — GM is our largest employer and taxpayer,” he said.
Petrie said the layoffs are linked to overproduction and weak sales. While not directly caused by US tariffs, he said the economic uncertainty created by those tariffs is making it harder for businesses to invest, especially in commercial vehicles. He added that the town is working with federal and provincial partners to support affected workers.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called the layoffs at GM’s Ingersoll plant “deeply painful news” for workers and the broader Canadian auto industry. “My government is fighting to defend our auto sector, protect our workers and build our supply chains in Canada,” Carney said in a statement. “We've made it easier for affected workers to access support, including waiving the EI waiting period.”
Carney said his team has been in regular contact with Unifor president and that the Canada–US cabinet committee has developed plans to ensure Canada is prepared to negotiate with the United States from a position of strength, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming election. “We will fight every day for the workers who build this country.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also expressed concern over the layoffs, saying he had spoken with Unifor Local 88’s GM Plant Chairperson and reaffirmed his party’s commitment to protecting auto jobs. He blamed US President Donald Trump’s tariffs for putting Canadian workers at risk. “We must strengthen our economy and end our reliance on the United States.”
The federal and Ontario governments each committed up to $259 million in 2022 to support General Motors’ investment in its Oshawa and Ingersoll plants. The funding was part of a larger $2-billion plan by GM to boost electric vehicle production in Canada.
A key part of that investment was focused on launching BrightDrop, GM’s electric commercial van brand. The CAMI plant in Ingersoll was retooled to produce BrightDrop Zevo vans and became Canada’s first full-scale EV manufacturing facility.
At the time, it was projected the CAMI facility would produce up to 50,000 electric BrightDrop vans annually by 2025 to meet expected demand.
But the BrightDrop vans have now faced a sluggish US market. The company has reportedly offered steep discounts to clear inventory, with hundreds of unsold vans now sitting in storage lots across North America.
Analysts blame the slowdown on high costs, weak demand for large EVs, and US trade tensions. Concerns also grow that a Trump administration could cut EV incentives.
Sheldon Williamson, a professor at Ontario Tech University, said the shutdown is a significant blow to the local workforce and the broader Canadian automotive industry, especially amid the push for EV manufacturing. “It highlights the ongoing challenges in balancing production shifts, supply chain issues, and labor stability,” said Williamson, who is also the Canada Research Chair in electric energy storage systems.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, says GM’s decision to pause and reduce production at the Ingersoll plant is devastating for workers, their families, and the community.
“General Motors must do everything in its power to mitigate job loss during this downturn, and all levels of government must step up to support Canadian auto workers and Canadian-made products,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne in a statement.
The union is urging governments to use this moment to support Canadian workers, strengthen the country’s industrial strategy, and prioritize buying Canadian-made products.
Unifor said recent actions by US President Donald Trump — including new tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles and auto parts — have caused major disruption in the auto industry, adding pressure to an already uncertain market.
“The reality is the US is creating industry turmoil. Trump’s short-sighted tariffs and rejection of EV technology are disrupting investment and freezing future order projections,” Payne said. “This is creating an opening for China and other foreign automakers to dominate the global EV market while the North American industry risks falling behind.”
Payne warned that the global shift to electrification is accelerating, and if Canada and the US slow down now, they may never catch up. Failing to act, she added, could mean losing control of the industry’s future.
Abdul Matin Sarfraz / Canada’s National Observer / Local Journalism Initiative
Comments
I wonder is those delivery vans could be converted to mini school-buses? At this moment Lion is idle and for sale, not because of low demand for electric buses, but for some financial reasons. Could Lion and GM work together somehow?
Electric buses are an ideal application for electric mobility: lots of short drives and absence of pollution for the children.
In line with Richard's comment above, a national effort to not just buy the excess inventory of Brightdrop vans, but to purposefully switch out combustion vans could really help keep production going. These are very practical commercial vehicles, not vanity suburban SUVs.
There are how many public sector maintenance and construction fleets among the federal, provincial and municipal governments? Hundreds, with thousands of vehicles. Canada Post, provincial hydro companies and city engineering departments alone offer a huge captive market with enough permanent demand, in my view, to form the largest customer base keep Brightdrop and other commercial EV makers going for years.
This is what the transition should look like.