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  • General Motors has decided to cut a shift at Oshawa Assembly in Canada.
  • The plant builds the Chevrolet Silverado and tariffs are to blame for the move.
  • Oshawa Assembly will now focus on building trucks for Canadian customers.

General Motors continues to slash automotive production in Canada as the company has confirmed Oshawa Assembly will be reduced to two shifts. The automaker blamed the change on “forecasted demand and the evolving trade environment.”

The latter is corporate jargon for Trump’s trade war and the Oshawa plant is being reoriented to build “more trucks in Canada for Canadian customers.” In essence, the company doesn’t want to import as many Chevrolet Silverado trucks from Canada as they used too.

More: GM Pausing Canadian Plant, But Tariffs Are Least Of Its Concerns

Despite losing a shift, GM said Oshawa Assembly’s future is secure as the plant will build “next-generation gas-powered trucks.” The automaker added they’ve been building vehicles in Canada since 1918 and are planning to continue doing so for another 100-plus years.

Unifor was outraged by the move as the union’s national president, Lana Payne, said “We will not allow GM to barter Canadian jobs to gain Donald Trump’s favor. Cutting the third shift at Oshawa Assembly is a reckless decision that deals a direct blow to our members and threatens to ripple through the entire auto parts supplier network.”

 GM Slashes Hundreds Of Jobs In Canada to Dodge Tariffs And Keep Trump Happy

Payne went on to claim “Trump’s tariffs are designed to crush Canadian production” and said “GM doesn’t get a free pass to abandon its commitments.” She then threatened the “company has six months to fix this” and say “cutting jobs now has consequences.”

While Unifor didn’t say how many jobs will be lost, CBC News put the number at 700 people. They’re expected to be out of work this fall, although the company promised to “support employees through the transition.”

 GM Slashes Hundreds Of Jobs In Canada to Dodge Tariffs And Keep Trump Happy

The move comes shortly after GM decided to pause production at CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ontario. That plant builds slow-selling BrightDrop delivery vans and workers will briefly return in May, before production ends again to allow for retooling.

When production resumes, the plant will be reduced to a single shift for the foreseeable future. At the time, Unifor said this would result in the “indefinite layoff of nearly 500 workers.”

 GM Slashes Hundreds Of Jobs In Canada to Dodge Tariffs And Keep Trump Happy