General Motors has agreed to invest $1.3 billion to reopen the Oshawa plant.
Unifor National President Jerry Dias made the announcement today while outlining some of the details of a tentative deal reached early this morning.
Dias says the plant will have a new body shop, new assembly line, and the paint shop will be fixed up.
Retooling will begin immediately following ratification of the deal. The vote is scheduled for Sunday.
He anticipated the company will begin rehiring union members in August of 2021 and the first heavy duty truck will roll off the assembly line in 2022.
Dias said the plant will work on Silverados, Sierras, and will be the only GM plant globally building both heavy duty and light duty trucks.
When it comes to St. Catharines, Dias acknowledged union members were nervously considering the future, anticipating layoffs in the years to come.
Dias says GM has agreed to invest $109 million in the plant, build additional transmissions for the Equinox, and begin a new program to supply transmissions for the Chevy Corvette.
He says he does not expect any layoffs in St. Catharines during the life of this agreement.