‘GM wants to be here long-term,’ says Ingersoll mayor
General Motors has announced a temporary shutdown of its CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., with hundreds of layoffs expected. GM says the decision is not tied to U.S. tariffs, but is due to decreased market demand and high inventory levels of the BrightDrop electric vehicle. Mayor of Ingersoll Brian Petrie weighs in.
The GM plant shutdown in Ingersoll, which is about 40 kilometres east of London, Ont., is due to a decline in demand for the electric delivery trucks it assembles, according to the town’s mayor Brian Petrie.
Petrie says he was told General Motors would be working to come up with another product for the plant.
“That is what I’ve heard and I welcome that,” Petrie told CBC News’s Andrew Nichols. “I know GM wants to be here long-term.”
Petrie said the company has operated in the community since 1986. While the shutdown may not be directly related to auto sector tariffs for the moment, Petrie said the tariffs are “always concerning with everything changing.”
He said “it’s not a good day” for his community, but added that Unifor, the union representing workers at the plant, has set up an action centre to help laid-off workers.
“I know that they’re going to be taken care of and we’re going to be there to help do it,” Petrie said, adding he’s also reaching out to the Ontario government, which had invested in the GM plant.
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