Ontario GM Workers Approve Cost Reductions

General Motors Corp. employees based at the auto maker’s Oshawa, Ont., Canada, assembly plant and represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union Local 222 reportedly have approved a cost-reduction deal aimed at securing future production at the manufacturing site.

The vote passed by a margin of 72%, with 8,360 of 11,000 eligible members turning out to cast ballots.

Reports say the changes will allow GM to contract out nearly 400 custodial and maintenance jobs at the plant and reduce paid relief time by several minutes. In addition, the approved measures allow GM to hire a temporary workforce of about 200 for up to eight months in preparation for a new model launch, while also gaining more control over worker transfers if the plant closes or loses a shift.

The changes are not effective until GM decides later this year if the Oshawa plant will receive a flexible manufacturing investment to produce additional models, which could include an all-new Camaro muscle car and other large cars based off of GM’s rear-wheel-drive Zeta architecture. (See related story: Canadian, U.S. GM Workers Asked to Sacrifice )