GM workers use human assisted automation to weld vehicle doors at the General Motors assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., March 19, 2021. The plant made 135,800 pickups in 2025, according to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, accounting for 11 per cent of Canada’s auto production.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
General Motors Co. GM-N is spending $63-million at its plant in Oshawa, Ont., to upgrade the metal-stamping shop ahead of the arrival of the automaker’s next-generation of full-sized pickup trucks.
The announcement of the investment, which will also improve the plant’s parts-making operations, comes weeks after Detroit-based GM laid off 700 workers and cut the third production shift at the plant east of Toronto.
GM said in a press release the work on the stamping plant, which makes body panels, supports preparations for the plant to assemble the new gasoline-powered pickup trucks. In 2023, GM said it would spend $280-million refitting the plant for the new trucks, which are built on an updated platform.
“This additional investment underscores Oshawa’s importance in GM’s full-size truck portfolio,” said Jack Uppal, president of GM Canada. “With a long history of building trucks in Canada, the talented team at Oshawa Assembly will continue to play a critical role for years to come in delivering the pickups our customers know and trust.”
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Chris Waugh, Unifor chairperson of truck assembly at the plant, called the investment “good news.” He said he is hopeful it means GM is committed to continuing to build trucks in Oshawa.
“I continue advocating for it,” Mr. Waugh said by phone. “So when they start spending money, it’s a good sign, especially [with] the trade war right now between Canada and the United States.”
The plant made 135,800 pickups in 2025, according to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, accounting for 11 per cent of Canada’s auto production. GM says the newest investment will bring the total spending at the plant to $1.5-billion since 2020.
The Silverado is the second-best selling vehicle in the U.S., according to Automotive News and Cox Automotive, behind only the Ford F-150 pickup. GM is seeking to keep up with demand for the trucks, which are among its most profitable vehicles.
The Canadian auto sector – based in Ontario – has been hard-hit by tariffs imposed by U.S. Donald Trump. He has declared he wants to put an end to Canada’s carmaking, and has laid 25-per-cent tariffs on the non-U.S. content of cars made here.
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This has spurred some automakers to shift production to avoid the duties. Last year, GM boosted Silverado production in Fort Wayne, Ind., even as it planned layoffs in Oshawa. It is also set to begin assembling pickups in Orion, Mich. GM also makes pickups in Flint, Mich., and Silao, Mexico.
GM last year closed its electric delivery van plant in Ingersoll, Ont., laying off 1,150 workers. The move angered federal politicians, who pointed to the millions of dollars in taxpayer aid the automaker has received.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly said this month she is planning to seek “hundreds of millions” of dollars from GM and Stellantis NV, another Detroit-based automaker that has received public funding but made deep cuts to its Canadian workforce.