GM to up BrightDrop output, add 2nd shift at Ontario plant, Unifor says

General Motors Canada has committed to increasing production at CAMI Assembly starting in the first quarter of 2025, according to Unifor Local 88 as the union and automaker began contract talks Sept. 9. 

The move sets a path to returning roughly 1,300 hourly staff at the Ingersoll, Ontario, plant to full time following several years of choppy production that has left most of the plant’s workforce employed part time. 

In an update to members Sept. 9, Local 88 leadership said it was “pleased and relieved” by the automaker’s commitment to a “long overdue return to a two-shift operation.”

Mike Van Boekel, Unifor chairperson for CAMI, could not be immediately reached for comment. 

GM Canada did not confirm or deny the plan to return the plant to two shifts, but it said the decision to merge the BrightDrop brand with Chevrolet could create the need for higher output. 

“Our production schedules are based on market demand, and we see opportunity for growth potential under this new retail strategy,” company spokesperson Natalie Nankil said in an email.

The move would fulfill a key union objective. The two parties held the traditional handshake ceremony kick-starting talks in London, Ontario, just west of Ingersoll, on Sept. 9. 

The current three-year contract between the two parties expires Sept. 17 at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time, leaving a little more than a week for negotiators to hammer out a deal before workers could walk off the job. 

Bargaining at CAMI follows a wider round of contract talks last year, during which Unifor locked in major gains for members with the Detroit 3, including GM. CAMI opened as a joint venture between GM and Suzuki Motor Corp. in 1989 and has traditionally bargained on a different cycle than union membership at GM’s plants in Oshawa and St. Catharines. 

Along with raising wages and improving pensions, Unifor President Lana Payne said the latest round of talks will center on aligning the mismatched bargaining cycles.  

 “These negotiations will focus squarely on securing workers the economic stability our members deserve and that includes aligning CAMI workers with the rest of our GM membership to eliminate the historical lag in wage increases and other negotiated benefits,” she said in a release. 

Workers at CAMI have faced significant downtime since 2020, with the pandemic and resulting parts shortages leading to rolling production halts over a two-year period. In April 2022, the plant built its last Chevrolet Equinox and was shut down for roughly eight months to retool to build electric delivery vans.

BrightDrop van production started in late 2022 but has been slow to ramp up. Battery shortages closed the Ingersoll site for nearly six months between late 2023 and early 2024. CAMI resumed production in April, but only on a single shift, leaving its hourly van production staff of about 1,100 working two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off.

The opening of a new section of the plant dedicated to building Ultium battery modules and packs early this year has been one bright spot for the plant’s workforce. About 200 Unifor members are now building batteries that will go into both CAMI’s electric vans and EVs built at other GM plants in North America on three shifts. 

In August, GM said its move to tuck BrightDrop under the Chevrolet banner will allow the business unit to capitalize on Chevy’s large dealership network and help land new fleet customers. Previously, the vans were only available through a select few North American retailers, including the Toronto-area’s Roy Foss Automotive Group.