“Construction has already started. This is not something we dreamed up a few weeks ago. This is has been going on for quite some time,” Bell told the podcast, regarding the plan for Oshawa. “This is a full-blown investment. This is building a body shop. This is unique in a sense we’re building our bodies. We’re serious about having this flexibility and capacity for quite some time here. That’s where the billion-plus comes from.”
Hiring management now
GM Canada is currently accepting applications for new management positions within the plant. A handful of jobs are already listed on the GM Canada careers website.
“We don’t have a confirmed timeline for recruitment activities, but you may wish to direct friends and family to the site if they’re approaching you for information,” company spokeswoman Jennifer Wright said in a Facebook post.
She also said that “internal job opportunities will be communicated at a later time.”
GM Canada is “working closely with Unifor as we prepare to staff the new operations,” Wright said.
The investment also means jobs in the supply chain, Bell said. “It’s going to have quite an impact.”
Bell said that since trucks will be built from the ground up — unlike the old shuttle program, which saw unfinished trucks shipped to Oshawa from Indiana and finished there — GM Oshawa will be supplied by local companies, and that means jobs.
“If Unifor says it’s a 7-to-1 job ratio, it’s in that ballpark,” Bell said.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
