General Motors of Canada says it will help employees affected by the closure of the Oshawa Assembly plant next year fill a number of 2,400 jobs spread across the region and Ontario.
The automaker says several employers have identified about 2,000 jobs that will become open in the Durham region, northeast of Toronto, in 2019 and 2020.
In addition, General Motors has identified 300 openings for auto technicians at GM dealerships in Ontario and 100 jobs that will be open at other GM facilities in Ontario.
The automaker operates a propulsion factory at the St. Catharines engine and transmission plant, an assembly plant in Ingersoll that builds the Chevrolet Equinox and has a number of r&d centers scattered across the province.
GM Canada Vice President David Paterson told The Canadian Press on Friday the company is committed to spend "millions" to ensure its employees get the retraining they require, but the exact amount will depend on what other employers provide.
"What we want to do is to assure employees that their training will be taken care of. We'll make sure that there's enough money to do that," he said in an interview.GM said on Nov. 26 the Oshawa plant, which builds the Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala and finishes assembly of outgoing models of the light- and heavy-duty GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado, will not be allotted new product after 2019. All four vehicles it currently builds will be axed from the automaker's lineup.