Layoffs avoided as 2,600 GM Oshawa workers take packages

The Canadian Auto Workers union says younger workers at a General Motors truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., will be able to keep their jobs after more than 2,600 senior workers throughout the company agreed to early retirement or buyout packages.

That number more than offsets the 2,000 job cuts the union was facing with the truck plant's closure.

Union Local 222 president Chris Buckley said the retirement packages are attractive and the willingness of older members to leave has made "the very best out of a terrible situation."

But Buckley said he's "not doing cartwheels with joy" because the closure of the truck plant next July still means lost jobs and lost economic development for Oshawa and the surrounding region.

GM announced earlier this year it would be closing the plant due to decreased demand for gas-guzzling trucks.

Buckley predicted there might be a significant number of other workers who take a buyout option before the end of the year if the industry doesn't strengthen.

"Obviously, there will be a percentage of our members that are just going to say, `Hey, the uncertainty is just too high in the auto industry these days,"' Buckley said.

"If some members have an opportunity to seek employment elsewhere or look at a different career opportunity, it might be worth their while to take their buyout package and cut their ties with General Motors and get out of the auto industry altogether."

Buckley said the union continues to lobby the federal government to help the auto industry deal with unfair trade, a high Canadian dollar and rising fuel costs.

With files from the Canadian Press

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