Automotive Production Up at GM Canada. Some 150 previously laid-off employees are set to return to work at a General Motors manufacturing plant in Canada to meet rising demand for sport utility vehicles, officials said on Nov. 9.
The Ingersoll, Ontario plant, owned by GM-Suzuki Motor Corp. joint venture CAMI Automotive, received a 90-million dollar (US$85 million) injection to retool and renovate its body shop over the next seven months.
The refurbishing aims to boost the plant’s capacity in order to meet strong demand for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, said GM. The vehicles are “two of GM’s hottest selling products,” Arturo Elias, president of GM Canada, said.
“This investment is an excellent example of what happens when you get the product right,” he said. “If the product is right, everything else follows — increased production, increased employment and strong market demand.”
The upgrade will allow production at the plant of an additional 40,000 vehicles annually for the Canadian and U.S. markets.
The staff recall is in addition to more than 300 employees re-hired in October, and marks CAMI’s return to full staffing with no remaining employees on layoff.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
